A Lifetime of Christmases
by misspatchesmom
Summary: Tony and Ziva celebrate Christmas over the years. Part of the 'You Complete Me' universe.
1. The First Christmas - 2005

A Lifetime of Christmases

_Tony and Ziva celebrate Christmas over the years._

Chapter 1: The First Christmas – 2005

Tony checked off his gift list as he put the gift cards into envelopes with Christmas cards; Gibbs, a $100 gift card to the home superstore that had specialty lumber. Tim, a $50 gift card for online gaming; Abby, a $50 gift card to her favorite second-hand shop where she got a lot of her funky clothing; Ducky, a $50 gift card for the specialty tea and coffee shop near the Yard; Jimmy, a generic $50 gift card that could be used almost anywhere. He wrote their names on the fronts of the envelopes and sealed each one. He looked at the final envelope, for Ziva, the newest member of the team. He wasn't quite sure if she celebrated any of the winter holidays, so he opted to get a Chanukah card for her instead of a Christmas card. The problem was that he was not quite sure what gift card to get for her.

He wracked his brain trying to come up with the perfect idea, trying to remember anything she had expressed any interests in over the three months she'd been a part of the MCRT. Ziva David, Mossad liaison officer; he'd not wanted to like her, but something about the Israeli drew him in. From their first encounter in the bullpen, he'd been fascinated by her.

Their undercover op as married assassins had only added to the attraction and fascination. He'd got to see her in a different light, all of her… And he'd got to know her body without the usual coverings. Oh, how he had gotten to know that body… god, she was his every dream come true in that area… In the month and a half since the op, they'd shared her bed four times for adult pleasures. He shook his head to clear the thoughts; focus on Christmas gifts.

Lingerie gift card; good thought, but definitely not appropriate for the office. A gift card to the knife store in the mall? Hmm, a possibility, but she didn't seem like the type to want collector knives; she was more into the practical, useful knives. He remembered her throwing the knife at the Civil War archaeology dig; never piss that woman off.

He checked the time on his watch; time to go pick up a pizza and head over to Ziva's place for dinner and whatever they decided after. He made a mental note to pay more attention to her apartment, her knickknacks, try to get some idea for her gift. He picked up his phone, flipped it open, and hit the speed dial key and then '1.' Yes, she was his one and only speed dial number…

"David," she answered brusquely.

"We still on for pizza and whatever?" he asked.

"Yes and no," she replied. "I mean, yes, come over, but no pizza. There is a new Chinese takeout place about two blocks from my apartment; I want to try that tonight."

He shrugged, then realized she couldn't see him, "Fine with me; see you in fifteen."

He arrived at her place exactly twelve and one half minutes later; she was waiting for him by the door. She turned him around as she grabbed her coat, keys, wallet, and phone.

"We shall walk to the Chinese place; the parking near there is awful," she announced as she gently prodded him in the direction of the sidewalk. "Since I did not get to run this morning, I will also get my daily exercise this way." She smiled at him as he followed her down the street. He nearly bumped into her when she stopped suddenly, looking into a window display.

"What the heck, Ziva?" he complained.

She ignored him and gazed at the display in the window; books, of all things. He looked up at the store sign, _Bookworm Used Books_. Her eyes wandered over the books on display, he followed her gaze to a selection of classics, children's books, and cookbooks. He made a note of the store's hours and was very glad to see a hand-printed sign on the door, '_We have gift certificates!_' He would get her a gift certificate from the bookstore.

The friends continued on to the Chinese place; they ordered to eat in. After the meal, they walked back to Ziva's apartment, making a stop at the bookstore on the way. Ziva was in one of the aisles of books, poring over the titles of classics, so Tony took the opportunity to purchase a $100 gift certificate from the owner.

"Great choice for your girlfriend," the old man winked at Tony and nodded towards Ziva. "She will appreciate your thoughtfulness."

Rather than correct him, Tony just smiled and nodded, "Apparently she loves books!" He tucked the gift certificate into his wallet as Ziva came over to the two men. She glanced at the large clock over the cash register area.

"I could stay in here all day," she commented. "But, I guess it is time for you to close, so I will come back another time."

"Come back any time; we are open seven days a week," the owner winked at Tony. "And you are welcome to spend the day in the book stacks; we have reading nooks set up around the store."

Back at Ziva's apartment, she turned to Tony before unlocking her door. "You have to promise me you will not eat anything you see in the kitchen."

"Um, yeah, okay, but why?"

She opened the door to the smells of cookies, freshly baked. She led him to her kitchen where racks of cookies were spread on all of the counters and several filled tins were stacked on a chair. He looked at her, a question about to form, when she put a finger on his lips.

"Yes, I bake. These are Christmas presents for the people at work. Peanut butter cookies for McGee; iced sugar cookies for Abby; shortbread for Ducky; chocolate chip cookies for Jimmy; and oatmeal cookies for Gibbs."

"Oh," he didn't quite know what to say. "Did you make some for me?" he asked hopefully.

"I do not know what kind of cookies are your favorite," she glanced at him, hoping he would get the hint that she wanted to know what to make for him.

"Snickerdoodles," he grinned at her, knowing she'd be confused by the name. "They're basically a soft sugar cookie with cinnamon. If you have a cookbook, I bet I can find the recipe."

She pointed to her cookbook collection on a shelf in the corner of the kitchen; he glanced at the titles. Every single one of them was in Hebrew! So much for finding the recipe for her. He saw a notepad and pencil and picked them up.

"I'll write the name for you, that way you can find it," he offered. He printed the words 'snickerdoodle' and then 'cinnamon sugar cookie' on the paper and handed it to her.

"In Hebrew, '_ugiyott_ _qinamonn," _she said as she read the words. He looked at her and she laughed. "You will see on Monday when I bring the gifts for everyone."

On Monday, Tony thought he was the first one in to work; he didn't see McGee's car or Gibbs' truck in the lot. Not even Abby's car was there. He walked out of the elevator to put the envelopes on desks. He got to his desk and put his backpack behind his chair in its usual spot. He pulled the envelopes out of his coat pocket and headed to the other desks. At Tim's desk he noticed the container from Ziva's kitchen. Damn, she had gotten there first or at least to some of the desks before he did. He placed the card on McGee's keyboard and moved to Gibbs' desk. Another container from Ziva; Tony placed the card next to it. He heard Ziva talking to someone, probably the Director, and decided to head down to Abby's lab and autopsy to make his deliveries.

After placing the cards for each person on their desks, he came back up to the bullpen. Ziva was at her desk, looking at her computer.

"Morning, Ziva,'' he greeted her. "I see you decided to play Santa today too; well at least for SOME of the team."

She looked up at him, "Yes; and I have one more to give." She reached down by her desk and then stood up. She walked to his desk and handed him a brightly colored tin. "Merry Christmas, Tony. Here are your '_ugiyott_ _qinamonn__."_

He took the tin from her and placed it on his desk. He reached into his pocket and handed her the last envelope, "Happy Chanukah, Ziva."

She opened the envelope as he opened the cookie tin. The smell of cinnamon wafted to his nose. He picked up a cookie and took a bite as she turned the gift certificate so she could read it. The cookies were delicious; some of the best snickerdoodles he'd ever had. He watched as Ziva's face lit up when she read the printed gift certificate.

"Thank you, Tony; you KNOW I will use this!" She gave him a smile he'd only seen a few times and only to him, no one else.

"You're welcome. These cookies are delicious, Ziva; thank you!" He grinned in that way she'd only seen him grin at her, no one else.

"Merry Christmas!" they said together.


	2. Awkward Christmas - 2006

Chapter 2: An Awkward Christmas – 2006

Tony accepted Jeanne's invitation to spend Christmas with her without hesitation. He enjoyed spending time with the blonde doctor despite the fact that her father was an international arms dealer who was on the most wanted wall of nearly every intelligence agency in the world. He was looking forward to spending the holiday with her.

At work, the usual Secret Santa gift exchange e-mail came out about a week prior. When he got to his desk, he noticed an interoffice communications envelope marked 'For your eyes only.' Intrigued he looked around for others who might have prying eyes; seeing no one, he opened the envelope and peered in at the single sheet inside.

'_Thank you for participating in this year's Secret Santa gift exchange. Your secret giftee is:'_ Darn it, the fold in the letter covered the name. Tony sat at his desk and put the envelope under the leg opening, carefully checking again for prying eyes. No one was watching, so he slid the letter out of the envelope and unfolded the page. There in bold letters, hand-printed in black Sharpie, was the one name he would have never in a million years guessed to be his Secret Santa recipient: **ZIVA DAVID**

"Well, shit," he muttered to himself. This was going to be awkward at best. He and Ziva were still partners on the job, but since his secret op for the Director, he and Ziva had not spent any time together outside of work. After their summer of just about every night with each other while Gibbs was in Mexico on his hiatus, the sudden change had left him missing her company. But he'd agreed to date Jeanne as part of the op to get to La Grenouille, her father. That meant no evenings or weekends with Ziva.

He shoved the envelope in his desk drawer and logged on to his computer to start his work day just as Ziva came off the elevator. She looked over at him as she put her backpack on the floor next to her desk; he nodded in acknowledgement and then looked back at his screen.

Ziva scowled when Tony broke the eye contact quickly; she wondered what had changed between them that they no longer spent time together outside of work. On the job, they still worked well as a team and were cordial to each other. She missed the time outside of work with Tony.

She sat down at her desk and noticed an envelope marked '_For your eyes only'_ lying on the top of her desk. She glanced over at Tony, wondering if it were one of his pranks. He seemed busy with his computer, not watching her. She opened the envelope carefully, and glanced inside.

_'Thank you for participating in this year's Secret Santa gift exchange. Your secret giftee is: _**ANTHONY DINOZZO**.' She looked twice to make sure she'd read the name correctly.

"Something wrong, David?" Gibbs noticed the scowl on Ziva's face as he entered the bullpen with his second cup of coffee for the day.

"Um, no…" Ziva stuffed the envelope in her pocket and turned to her computer.

"Good; cold case files. Get to work, all of you," Gibbs seemed to be in no nonsense mood today, more so than usual. Tim and Tony shared a look; the two immediately returned to the piles of folders on their desks at a glare from the Boss.

When Gibbs left to get yet another coffee, Tim spoke up, "Are you guys participating in the Secret Santa gift exchange this year?"

"NO!" his teammates responded together and quickly. He looked from one to the other and shook his head. They had been acting weird for the past month; something had changed but he couldn't put a finger on what.

Tim continued, "Well I am and I got Gibbs of all people as my recipient. What the heck do I get him?" Tony shrugged and Ziva held up her hands; great, they were not much help at all.

"Get for who?" Gibbs rounded the corner by Tony's desk.

"Um, nothing, Boss," Tim flipped open the file folder in front of him and pretended to be reading the papers within. He glanced at the other two; something was definitely off with them.

Two weeks later, the scheduled day for the Secret Santa gifting arrived with snow flurries. Tony had finally decided to get Ziva a gift certificate for the same used book store as the previous year. He knew she used the one from last year because he was with her when she spent the hundred dollars plus an additional sixty five dollars on a stack of books. Now he just had to figure out how to give her the envelope with the gift certificate; the rules were clear that the gift presentation had to be person-to-person. There was no option to drop and run.

Ziva was sitting at her desk when Tony stepped off the elevator; she had his gift hidden in the center drawer of her desk. She'd found a weekend film festival nearby in January and purchased two weekend passes for the event, which included fifteen films screened over the two and one half days. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she'd bought two passes in the hopes that he would invite her to go with him.

"Good morning, Ziva," he greeted her cheerfully. When she looked up at him, he smiled at her. Maybe this was a sign that whatever had happened to keep him away was forgotten.

She smiled and replied, "Good morning to you, Tony." As much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed that smile and her.

He put his backpack down and draped his coat over the back of his chair. He reached into his jacket pocket and took a deep breath. Neither McGee nor Gibbs was anywhere in sight; now was as good as ever to give Ziva her gift.

Ziva glanced around, no sign of McGee or Gibbs; she reached into her desk drawer for the envelope with Tony's gift. Now or never, she told herself and stood up.

"Tony." "Ziva." They spoke at the same time as each stepped toward the other with the hands with the envelopes behind their backs.

"You first," he said quickly.

"You go first," she again spoke at the same time.

Tony took a breath in; Ziva did the same; they locked gazes.

"I'm your Secret Santa," Tony blurted out as he held out the envelope with Ziva's gift.

Ziva spoke before she lost her nerve, "I am your Secret Santa." She held out the envelope towards her partner.

Each looked at the outstretched hand of the other as the words registered. Tony grinned and Ziva chuckled slightly.

"Of all the people in the building, I had to get you!" she laughed.

"And I got you!" he started laughing with her. "Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, Zee-vah." He took the envelope from her and put his to her in her other hand.

"Merry Christmas, Tony."


	3. Silent Night - 2008

Chapter 3: Silent Night – 2008

"I had big plans for Christmas Eve, Probie," Tony lamented to McGee as the two agents searched their suspect's apartment.

"Sure you did, Tony," the junior agent replied skeptically. He bagged some more items to take back to the office and smirked at the SFA.

"Really!" Tony insisted. "I had plans that did not include working on Christmas Eve."

"Whatever…"

They finished up at Ned Quinn's sparse apartment and headed back to the Navy Yard, dropping the bags of evidence with Abby.

Several hours later, Tony and Ziva were staking out the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, hoping to spot Quinn. Ducky's suggestion that the man would seek to be near his lost buddies was a good idea, but it didn't seem like it was going to pan out.

Tony turned to Ziva, "When I planned to spend Christmas Eve with you, this is certainly far from what I had in mind."

She sighed, "I know. Maybe we will still get to spend Christmas day together? I have all the ingredients to make lasagna waiting for us at home." She put her hand on his upper arm, "At least we are together…"

"He's here; look…" Tony pointed to the lone figure trudging to the Wall. Ziva picked up the binoculars and confirmed that the person was indeed Ned Quinn. Tony called Gibbs who advised them to stay put in the car but to keep an eye on their main suspect.

It was nearly midnight when the team finally cleared Quinn as the murderer and arrested the actual killer. Tony grabbed the DVD of _It's a Wonderful Life_ out of his desk drawer and followed the others up to MTAC. Only Gibbs was missing, but Ziva said that the Boss had told her to go ahead without him.

Ducky, Tim, Jimmy, Abby, Tony, and Ziva settled in with hot chocolate and Christmas cookies to watch the DiNozzo traditional holiday film. Ziva and Tony sat in the row behind the others. He slipped his hand into hers and grinned at her.

"Merry Christmas, Ziva," he leaned to her and spoke softly into her ear.

"Merry Christmas, Tony," she whispered back to him and smiled. "And we still have all day tomorrow for us…"

The following day, Ziva made the lasagna as promised. Tony could smell the sauce as he stepped out of the bathroom from his shower. They'd left NCIS about 0300 after watching the film and exchanging gifts with the others. Tony followed Ziva to her place and the pair collapsed exhausted on her bed. Ziva woke up before he did and headed to the kitchen to prepare the lasagna for baking and also to make cookies; snickerdoodles especially for Tony. He woke to the smell of cinnamon. He showered and put on a pair of jeans and a casual shirt.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Ziva checked the clock; it was still morning. 1022 to be exact.

"Smells good in here," he commented as she poured a mug of coffee for her partner. He reached around her and scarfed a cookie from the rack where it was cooling. He quickly shoved it in his mouth before she could make him put it back.

"No more; you will ruin your dinner," she scolded with a grin.

"Nah a chass…" he spoke with a mouthful of cookie. "Yum; vewy goo!" He swallowed and then took a sip of his coffee. "I think those _ugiyott qinamonn_ are better than the last ones."

Ziva turned and looked at him; he grinned his goofiest grin at her. "Of course I remember, Zee-vah!"

"You constantly surprise me, Anthony DiNozzo!" she grinned back at him. She finished layering the lasagna in the pan and checked the oven. It was not quite preheated. She refreshed her own coffee and checked Tony's. The oven beeped to indicate that it finished preheating, so Ziva slid the pan of lasagna on the center rack and set the timer for forty five minutes.

"Shall we move into the living room to open gifts?" he suggested. She nodded and pulled a wrapped a package from the bookshelf by her sofa. Tony watched her as she checked the fancy ribbon, adjusting it just so. He sat on the couch and put a small box on the coffee table.

Ziva handed him the large rectangular box with festive paper and the fancy multi-colored ribbons dangling in all directions. He handed her the small box that was wrapped in blue paper with silver stars printed on it.

"Merry Christmas, Tony," she started peeling the tape from the side of the small box.

"Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas, Ziva," he turned the large box, looking for the seam so that he could carefully unwrap the festive package. He watched Ziva as she realized the box from him was a jeweler's box.

Ziva opened the small jeweler's box to see the diamond hoop earrings she had admired when she and Tony had cruised the local mall before Thanksgiving. "Oh, wow, Tony… you should not have."

"Nothing is too good for my Ninja," he grinned as she put the earrings on. "I'm glad you like them." He removed the paper from her gift to him and his grin got even wider. It was the complete set of films that they had seen almost two years ago at the weekend film festival. Jeanne had been on call that weekend, so he asked Ziva to go with him. It was the first time since he began the op for Director Shepard that he and Ziva had spent a weekend together. Both had enjoyed the time together, although Tony felt guilty about keeping Ziva in the dark about why he hadn't been spending time with her.

"Whoa; this is awesome, Ziva. Thank you so much!" he leaned over to her and put a soft kiss on her cheek. "Merry Christmas, my Ninja."


	4. It's All Good - 2009

Chapter 4: It's All Good – 2009

Tony and Ziva walked back to the bullpen after the Secret Santa gift was given to Dolores. Both were smiling as they talked about her reaction.

"That was so awesome," Tony commented. "The look on her face when she saw the doll gave me goose bumps."

Ziva looked at her partner quizzically. He explained that 'goose bumps' meant that it was an exciting and, in this case, a feel good moment.

"So why did you not just say it felt good?" she asked him. "I did not see her face, but your expression was priceless."

He turned to her with a grin, "Yours was too, my little weepy-eyed Ninja."

"I…I…did not…"

"Yes, you did," he grinned again and pretended to wipe a tear from his face. Then he reached over to pretend to wipe a tear from her eyes. She flinched and grabbed his hand. "Sorry," he spoke softly so no one else could hear.

"No, I am sorry. It is just…" she replied but was cut off by Abby rushing out of the elevator.

"Oh, good, you're still here," the forensic scientist handed both agents their gifts from her. Abby hugged Tony since he was the closer of the two. "Homemade cookies and candies; made with love in the lab."

"Thanks, Abs."

The Goth turned to her Israeli friend, "Ziva is it okay if I hug you?"

"Yes you may." The two women hugged; Tony noticed that Ziva was still stiff and looking like she wanted to be anywhere else when hugged. He wanted to go back to Somalia and chop Saleem to bits for what he had done to the Ninja. Nobody should be allowed to hurt his best friend.

"Merry Christmas, guys." Abby called over her shoulder as she headed to the elevator to go back to the lab.

"Merry Christmas, Abby!"

Tony turned to Ziva as they both started packing up their bags to go home for the long weekend, "So, I got all the ingredients to make my world famous spaghetti and meatballs. Were you planning on cooking anything for tomorrow?"

"I have everything to make olive chicken, but that can wait for Saturday or Sunday if you would like to make the Christmas meal," she winked at him. "After all, I have cooked the meal the past two years…"

"Great; I'm going to swing by my place to get the food and some other things. See you at your place in about an hour?" He jangled his car keys and watched her put the gifts from Abby in her bag; both his and her treats from the Goth would get enjoyed over the three days that they had off for Christmas.

"Are you bringing _It's a Wonderful Life_? Remember that my copy got destroyed when my apartment blew up," she reminded him as they walked to the elevator. She pressed the call button.

"Yep; I'll bring some other DVDs as well. We'll have to work on getting your collection back up to par," he teased with a grin. "After you," he motioned for her to step into the elevator.

At his apartment, Tony put the ingredients for his spaghetti and meatballs in a large grocery tote bag. He put changes of clothes into his small duffel bag and then stuffed his three gifts for Ziva in the sides of the duffel. He grinned thinking about her opening the gifts; she would certainly be surprised.

Ziva headed home after making a quick stop at the grocery store to get stew beef; potatoes, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, and a bottle of red wine. She planned to make a shepherd's pie for dinner using mashed potatoes as the "crust" instead of pastry. At home, she peeled the potatoes and diced them into a pot of water. She set it on the stove to boil and cook the potatoes so she could mash them. She put cut the stew beef into bite-sized pieces and browned the meat, minced garlic, and diced onion in some olive oil. She was just adding some water to the mix to make a gravy when Tony walked in the door.

"Hey, it smells good in here! How long until dinner?" he entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge and put the ground beef, sweet Italian sausage, fresh tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, and chunk of parmesan cheese on one of the shelves. The package of very thin spaghetti went into Ziva's pantry.

Ziva turned off the heat under the pan and pulled the casserole dish over by the stove. "Once I get this all in the baking dish and into the oven, maybe thirty minutes at the most."

Tony moved over by Ziva to see what she was making; he stuck a finger in the pot of mashed potatoes. He popped the glob of mashed potato into his mouth as Ziva scowled at him. Just then his stomach growled and they both laughed.

"See, I'm a growing boy. I need my food," he smirked at her as she layered the potatoes and meat mixture in the baking dish.

"Hand me that package of shredded cheddar cheese from the refrigerator, please?" she nodded her head in the direction of the fridge. Tony opened the door and found the cheese in the drawer. He tore off the top part of the package and pulled open the zip lock sealer. He held out the package to her.

"The cheddar makes a bit of a crust on top," she explained as she sprinkled the cheese over the top of the final layer of mashed potatoes. She put the dish in the preheated oven and set the timer for thirty minutes.

Tony took the pot and pan to the sink to wash as Ziva wiped the top of the stove and counter. If it were up to him, everything would go in the dishwasher, but he knew Ziva was adamant about washing her pots and pans by hand. Her place, her rules.

"I brought _It's a Wonderful Life_, _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_, _Home Alone_, and a bunch of non-Christmas DVDs. We can watch the Christmas ones tonight, since it is Christmas Eve!"

Tony rinsed the pot and pan as he talked; he put them in the drainer rack to dry. Ziva took two plates out of the cabinet and set them by the stove. She pulled two forks from the drawer and then got two wine glasses from the cabinet near the fridge.

"Do you want to eat at the counter or in the living room?" she asked him.

"Let's eat in the living room; that way we can watch the Grinch while we eat," he replied. He moved into the living room to set up the tray tables by the couch. He powered up the DVD player and put the DVDs for the three Christmas movies in the trays. The player he'd bought for her could take up to six discs at a time; convenient when watching movie marathons.

The timer on the oven sounded; Ziva took the casserole dish from the oven and put it on the stove top. Tony took the wine and glasses to the living room; he opened the bottle and poured wine into each glass.

Ziva called him into the kitchen, "Do you want to fill your own plate?" She handed him the serving spoon as he picked up a plate. He put several spoonsful of the shepherd's pie on his plate; it smelled delicious and he was very hungry.

He took his plate to the living room and as Ziva came and sat next to him, he pressed the play button on the remote. He chose the disc for Grinch and settled back to enjoy the meal and one of his favorite Christmas cartoons.

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus. You're as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch," Tony sang along with the song. Ziva rolled her eyes and chuckled at his antics.

Both finished their meals about the time the ending of the story showed on the screen.

He quoted along with the narrator, "Well, in Whoville they say – that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two!"

The closing credits ran across the screen as Ziva took the empty plates to the kitchen. She rinsed them and put the plates in the dishwasher while Tony folded the tray tables and put them back on the rack. Ziva grabbed one of the containers of cookies and candies from Abby as she headed to the living room. She put the container on the coffee table next to the wine glasses that Tony had refilled.

He sat back on the sofa, his arm across the back and Ziva sat by his side. He press play for _It's a Wonderful Life_ as Ziva snuggled into his side. He put the remote on the arm of the couch and let his outstretched arm slide down around Ziva. All was good in their world again. As the pair watched the classic, Tony absently played with the curls cascading over his partner's shoulder. They munched on the goodies from Abby and finished the bottle of wine over the two hours and fifteen minutes of the film.

After the movie, Tony stretched and got up to use the bathroom. Ziva put her kettle on the stove to heat up water for hot chocolate and then took her turn in the bathroom. Back in the kitchen she poured the hot water into two mugs already filled with cocoa mix. She stirred the hot chocolate to mix it thoroughly. She carried the two steaming mugs into the living room setting them on the coasters on the coffee table.

"Thanks, Zi; I know which one is yours," Tony pointed to the mug with the mini-marshmallows covering the surface of the beverage. He pressed play for _Home Alone_ and the pair sat back to enjoy the one hour and forty three minute comedy.

It was almost midnight when the final movie ended. Ziva cleaned up the remains of their snacks while Tony replaced the discs in their cases and powered down the DVD player and TV. While Ziva was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, he put the three wrapped packages with his gifts for her on the coffee table.

While Tony was in the bathroom doing his nightly routine, Ziva pulled two wrapped packages from the bottom drawer of the dresser. She carried them to the living room and set them on the coffee table; she noticed a small pile already on the table. She smiled, but was good and did not try to peek at the gifts.

Two friends cuddled under the down comforter, sharing warmth and contact. Tony's last thought as he drifted to sleep was that he could really get to like sleeping this way. Ziva's last thought as she allowed herself to fall asleep was that she really did feel safe from the evils of the world and the terrors of her nightmares when she was in Tony's arms at night.

Tony awoke before Ziva; he carefully slipped out of the bed and went to the kitchen. He took the package of frozen cinnamon rolls out of the freezer. He read the directions and preheated the oven; he found one of Ziva's baking sheets and placed all eight preformed rolls on it. As he waited for the oven to preheat, he started the coffee brewing.

Ziva awoke to the smells of cinnamon and coffee and the sound of Christmas music from the living room. Tony found a music channel on the cable TV that had all holiday music and the image of a crackling fire.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he quipped. "For once, I woke up before you." He grinned at her; she really did look cute with her bed head wild curls, her fuzzy robe, and still slightly sleepy expression.

"Thank you, Tony. I slept well because of you," she ran a hand over his cheek as she spotted the full coffee pot and the two mugs he'd set out for them. "What is in the oven?"

"Cinnamon rolls; frozen dough from your favorite place in the mall. They should be almost ready." The timer buzzed just as he said that; he opened the oven and removed the tray of crusty cinnamon treats. "Just have to add the icing and we can eat breakfast." He cut the end off the tube of white icing and drizzled it over the eight hot rolls. He put two each on plates and the pair carried their breakfast to the living room.

"Merry Christmas, Tony." Ziva indicated the two gifts for him from her.

Tony pointed to his stack of three for her, "Merry Christmas, Zee-vah." He handed her the largest of the three packages. "We'll take turns; you go first."

Ziva tore the festive paper from the package; she gasped when she spotted the replacements for two of her favorite cookbooks that had been destroyed in the explosion and fire at her previous apartment. "Toda raba; where did you find these?"

Tony grinned, "It wasn't easy, but our friend at the used bookstore was a big help."

She handed him the smaller of the two gift boxes from her. She watched as he tore the paper from the box and then frowned as he saw that the box was plain with no clue as to its contents. She handed him her pocket knife from the end table so that he could cut the tape over the flap on one end.

He lifted the flaps and let out a loud, "WOW! Is this what I think it is?" He carefully lifted the bubble-wrapped item from the box. He used the knife to cut the tape holding the bubble wrap in place, exposing the framed autographed photo of Sean Connery as James Bond. "Oh, my god, Ziva; this is awesome!"

"Read what he wrote," she pointed to the autograph.

He squinted and read aloud, "To Tony, shaken, not stirred." His grin made Ziva grin; she was glad he liked the gift. "How? When?"

"That is my secret," she smirked at him as he handed the second gift from him to her. It was the larger of the two remaining presents. She shook the box, no sound to give away its contents; she peeled the tape holding the paper in place. Tony watched for her reaction. She slid the box out of the paper; no markings on the cardboard to indicate the contents.

She cut the tape over the end of the box; he helped her slide the contents out of the cardboard. Ziva could feel the wood before she saw it; an intricately carved olive wood jewelry box. The top had an inlaid floral design; it was beautiful. "I do not know what to say; it is so beautiful. Thank you," Ziva leaned over to place a kiss on Tony's cheek.

"Just like you, my Ninja," he was really glad she liked it.

Ziva handed him the second gift from her, "I hope you like it." She watched as he unwrapped the collection of James Bond DVDs, all of them with Sean Connery. Also included in the set were the Ian Fleming novels that were the basis for the films.

He leaned towards her, pulling her to him and wrapped his arms around his friend. "Wow, Ziva; this has to be the best Christmas ever. Thanks." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and gave her that smile that he had just for her. "I'm glad you are my friend."

He let her loose and grabbed the small box that remained on the table. He held it out to her without a word; grinned his classic DiNozzo grin at her. She looked over the small package; it seemed oddly familiar. She pulled off the blue paper with the silver stars to a jeweler's box inside.

"Open it," he whispered. She slowly lifted the lid; inside were a pair of diamond hoop earrings similar to the ones he had given her last year.

"To replace the ones that got destroyed; I know how much you liked the ones last year." She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled. That smile she kept for him alone; his insides just about melted.

"Toda raba; I do not deserve you," she spoke softly.

"Yeah, you do, my Ninja; yes you do," he whispered in her ear as she wrapped him in a hug. "Merry Christmas, Ziva."

"Merry Christmas indeed!"


	5. Are We Good? - 2010

Chapter 5: Are We Good? – 2010

Ziva looked up from the report she was finishing up; only she and Tony were at their desks. She grabbed the envelope from her desk and walked over to Tony's desk.

"Something on your mind, Zee-vah?" he asked without looking up from the partially complete report on his screen.

"Well, I, um, since I, um, I am not going to be in DC for Christmas," she started and paused when Tony looked up with a slightly panicked expression.

"Not going to be here?"

"Yes, I am meeting Ray in Vermont to go skiing. Anyhow, here is your gift," she thrust the envelope at him, trying to avoid the awkwardness that seemed to have come between them since she started dating Ray Cruz.

"Oh. I thought I'd be able to bring your gift to your place on Christmas; I guess it'll have to wait until you get back then," he took the envelope from her and made eye contact.

"It was last minute; he got time off," she tried to explain.

Tony sighed; he would NOT let his jealousy show. "If he makes you happy, Ziva, then I am happy for you." He slid his finger under the flap of the envelope. Inside was a gift certificate for a year's worth of screenings at the theater in Georgetown that showed classic films on the weekends. "Thank you; you know I'll use this," he held up the gift certificate and smiled at her.

"I am glad you like it," she turned and walked back her desk. "Let me get this report finished; I have a flight to catch!"

Twenty minutes later, she started packing up to leave. Tony was still typing on his keyboard; he nodded as she put the final report in his in basket.

"Merry Christmas, Ziva," he didn't look up.

"Merry Christmas, Tony, see you next year," Ziva turned and walked towards the elevator without looking back. Tony looked up and watched her retreating back side. He sighed again; damn, he'd miss her over the holiday. He'd gotten used to spending at least part of the days off with her the past three years. And now she was spending the week with Ray, someone he'd never met. If he was supposed to be happy for her, he needed to meet this guy.

"Something wrong, DiNozzo?" Gibbs came into the bull pen with a cup of coffee.

"No, Boss. All good, I think. Just finishing up these last reports." Tony hit print for the last one from his computer and picked up Ziva's report to check it over. All looked fine, so he put it in the folder to put on Gibbs' desk.

He retrieved his report from the printer and skimmed it over. Crap, he'd put the witness statement in the incorrect box. Back to the computer!

Tony worked on correcting the report, and then printed it. He leafed through the folder, making sure there was nothing missing before handed off the reports to Gibbs. He put the folder on Gibbs' desk; the senior agent was nowhere in sight and the coffee cup was gone.

Tony went through a mental checklist of things that needed to be done on the Monday after Christmas; they had Christmas Eve off since the holiday was on Saturday. He thought about having to go home to his apartment and decided to complete as many of the online forms as he could tonight to get a jump on the end of month reports.

At 2030, Tony looked up from his keyboard. The lights were dimmed in most parts of the building. Only a skeleton team remained in the building to take any calls that might come in. Gibbs was not at his desk and he wondered if the man had actually gone home before him. He checked his phone and was surprised at the time.

Two more forms to complete and he'd be done; he decided to finish them. There was nothing better waiting for him outside of the office. Even the prank he'd pulled earlier with the confetti in the bull pen seemed to pale with Ziva gone to Vermont and no place for him to go. He did have to admit that seeing Ziva with her gun drawn and confused about the source of the popping sounds was funny.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a slap to the back of the head. "Go home, DiNozzo. I've been home, taken the toys to the hospital for the sick kids, had dinner. Why are you still here?"

Tony was shocked at the amount of words from the Boss man, "Almost done here," he typed a final line and clicked 'save.'

"Go home!"

He powered down his computer and started packing his bag, "Got nothing to go home to," he muttered to himself.

"Say something?" Gibbs looked annoyed as he waited for his SFA to pack up.

"No, Boss; just talking to myself."

The two walked to the elevator in silence. They were most of the way to the ground floor when Gibbs hit the emergency switch.

"Decide what you want and stop feeling sorry for yourself," Gibbs raised his hand to administer another slap to the back of the SFA's head. He flipped the switch and the rest of the trip was silent as Tony rubbed the back of his head.

The doors opened and the two walked to the door to the outside.

"Merry Christmas, DiNozzo."

"Merry Christmas, Boss," he replied. '_I think…'_

* * *

**A/N While I didn't really want to write Christmas with Ray in the picture, it is a necessary part of their story.**


	6. It's You and Me, Kid - 2012

Chapter 6: It's You and Me, Kid – 2012

Tony opened the small wrapped gift that he found under the Christmas tree that Senior put up in his apartment; the family signet ring! Despite the fact that his father had been caught with the neighbor in HIS (Tony's) bed, the mess the man had made in the apartment, and the general getting on his son's last nerve, Tony had to smile. Senior hadn't sold the ring or pawned it for cash; or if he did, he'd reclaimed it at some point.

As Tony slipped the ring onto his right ring finger, he noticed another small box on the end table. This one wasn't wrapped, but the blue velvet exterior and the general shape screamed jeweler's box. The signet ring wouldn't pass over his knuckle, so he put it back in its box before picking up the blue velvet box.

Underneath was a note; '_Junior, this was your mother's. Perhaps you have a use for it. Dad_' Tony opened the box; his mother's engagement ring sparkled in the light. Memories flooded in; he remembered seeing that ring on his mother's left hand. The shiny blue sapphires and brilliant white diamonds had always fascinated him.

"Yeah, Dad, I will definitely have a use for this," he grinned as he pictured the ring on Ziva's hand. Some day when the time was right, he'd put it on her finger…

He was broken from this thought by the chime for an incoming text message; he picked up his phone. _'Are you still bringing It's a Wonderful Life to MTAC?' _ Abby's message was marked urgent for some reason.

'_Yes; will be there in 30 min,'_ he replied. He stuffed the two ring boxes in his jacket pocket and grabbed his keys, phone, and the DVD.

When he arrived to MTAC, Gibbs, Ducky, Jimmy, Tim, and Ziva were already there; Abby was missing. Tony handed off the DVD case to Tim so he could load the DVD into the computer. Ziva and Tony shared a look and a smile.

"Look what Senior left for me," he held out the family signet ring for all to see.

Ziva smiled at him again, "It is you, Tony." He was about to reply to her when there was a loud knocking at the door.

"That must be Abby," Tim got up to open the door for the Goth.

She rushed in, "Hey, guys, look who I found!" Senior followed her into MTAC; Tony's mouth gaped in surprise.

"I thought you left."

"Well you were wrong, Tony. I found him and brought him back to be with family," Abby gently prodded the older DiNozzo towards his son.

"Merry Christmas, Junior," father embraced son.

"Merry Christmas, Dad. Are you going to stay and watch _It's a Wonderful Life_ with us?"

"If you'll have me," replied Senior as Abby put a cup of punch in his hand and Ziva handed him a plate of cookies.

All of them settled into seats in MTAC to watch the classic film; Ziva and Tony sat side by side and once the movie started showing on the large screen and the lights were dimmed, the pair silently intertwined hands. Tony had to fight the urge to kiss her each time the couple met gazes and especially when Ziva smiled her special smile at him. He settled for squeezing her hand as a promise of time alone together later.

After the end credits finished, the team cleaned up the remains of the snacks from MTAC. Tony ejected the DVD from the computer and powered everything down.

"I'm going to take Senior to my lab so I can give him some gingerbread cookies; we'll meet you in the parking lot, Tony," Abby called out as she and Senior headed out the door.

Ziva looked around; she and Tony were the only two left in the room. She walked over to where he was checking that all was shut down for the night and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"I have wanted to do this all night," she whispered as he turned to face her. She leaned into the embrace and locked her lips on his.

"Me too," he spoke softly as they broke apart for air. "I have missed you terribly with my father staying at my place."

Ziva nodded and kissed him again. "Do you think that he noticed that you don't really live at your place anymore?"

Tony shrugged, "Don't know; don't care…" He fused his lips to hers again. "How about we go home and get cozy?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"A new Christmas Eve tradition?" she grinned and looked at him with desire clearly written in her eyes and expression.

"I could get used to that!" He kissed her again.

"First we need to meet Abby and Senior in the parking lot," Ziva reminded him.

Tony looked at his watch, 'Yeah, crap, we better get going and not keep them waiting." They held hands to the elevator, in the elevator, and most of the way to the cars that were parked side by side. Abby and Senior emerged from Abby's car.

"There you are, son. Thanks for the cookies, Abby, and for the warm place to wait for my slow poke son," he hugged the forensic scientist. "Merry Christmas!"

Abby got into her car with a "Merry Christmas" to all and drove off.

Ziva stepped back near her car and waited while father and son talked briefly.

"Dad, here are my keys; take my car and go back to my apartment for the night," Tony held out his keys as Senior glanced over at Ziva.

"And where are you… never mind… I have a flight out of Dulles at three thirty tomorrow afternoon," the elder DiNozzo explained.

"We'll get you there. Merry Christmas, Dad," son hugged father.

"Merry Christmas, son; I love you. Now go enjoy the rest of your night," he nodded towards Ziva. "I think someone is waiting for you. Did you get the other box I left for you?"

Tony nodded, "One day it will be on her finger…"

"Merry Christmas, Ziva," Senior called out as he opened the car door and waved to her.

Ziva smiled and waved back, "Merry Christmas!" She got into her car and started the engine as Tony clicked his seatbelt in the passenger seat.

She backed out of the parking space after Senior left in Tony's Cadillac; once out the gate, she intertwined her fingers with Tony's. "Are you okay with him knowing about us?"

"Yeah; I think he may have figured it out anyhow," he squeezed Ziva's hand in his. "Let's get home; I want to see what you have in mind, Sweetcheeks." He flashed is signature DiNozzo grin at her and tried not to distract her while she drove.

After she parked in the lot for her building, he pulled her to him and fused his lips on hers. They broke apart long enough to get out of the car; then locked lips again and wrapped arms around each other. Tony refused to break contact and the two walked a bit awkwardly while kissing to Ziva's door. She unlocked it and he scooped her into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as he carried her inside and kicked the door shut with his foot. Coats were quickly discarded and hung on the pegs by the door. Ziva tugged on Tony's tie as he started unbuttoning her top.

"There is only one place I want to be right now," she breathed into a kiss as the pair moved towards the bedroom.

"Oh, and where is that, my Ninja?" he grinned into the next kiss as he slid her top down her arms and she unbuttoned his shirt after removing his jacket and tie.

He opened the waist of her pants as she undid his. Both pairs of pants dropped to the floor as they stepped out of shoes and then pants. Ziva ran her hand over the front of Tony's boxers as he unhooked her bra.

"Right here, with you," she pushed him back on the bed straddling his hips with only his boxers and her panties between them. "You got a problem with that?" she smirked before fusing her lips on his.

"Uh, no…" he teased a finger along the leg opening of her panties, his eyes now dark with desire. "Shall I get rid of these?"

"Right after I get rid of this," she tugged his boxers down and he kicked them off his ankles. He slid her panties over her hips and pulled her to him, slowing joining their bodies…


	7. Blue Christmas - 2013

Chapter 7: Blue Christmas – 2013

After his request for the week off was denied – apparently he'd used all of his accumulated leave, comp time, and sick days in his summer in Israel – Tony volunteered to work Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas so that others could spend time with their families. He had nothing to go home to except two goldfish.

Ziva's queen sized bed, Egyptian cotton sheets, and down comforter were a comfort some nights and torture other nights. They reminded him of her in a comforting way, yet also reminded him of what he had lost. With the exception of her cookbooks, everything else that had been in her apartment was now in a storage facility a few miles from his apartment. Periodically, he went over to check that all was okay.

The floor was exceptionally quiet; a good thing for Christmas Eve. One call had come in around 1300 about a possible AWOL Marine, but he had been able to pass the information off to the base security at Fort Belvoir. He tried to keep busy even if it was with games, but there was just so much solitaire or mah-jongg he could tolerate. The one thing he had managed to avoid so far was to look at the desk across from his.

After a quick trip to the men's room and then to the break area to get a wholesome dinner from the vending machines, he sat back at his desk. A bottle of diet cola, a candy bar, and a white-coated sugary pastry hardly made a dinner, but he was not in the mood to go out for take-out food. Tony had decided when he arrived at 0700 on Christmas Eve that he would stay in the building until the end of the work day on Friday, if possible. At least some of the others would be in the office on Friday, 27 December. The only thing that would make him leave would be a case where he was needed in the field.

Nearly four days straight of the orange walls somehow seemed more comforting than going home to his empty apartment. Lying in his – Ziva's and his – bed and drowning in memories made for long and lonely nights with fitful sleep at best.

As he shoved the last bite of the pastry in his mouth, he made the mistake of looking across the bullpen. He felt his heart skip a beat; the tears already forming in his eyes. Just a year ago, they had been so happy. The 'post-elevator us' they called it. He'd all but moved in with her and the pair was nearly inseparable. By day, they would steal glances across the bullpen, hoping Tim and Gibbs would not notice the longing, the desire, the connection, between them. By night, they would make good on promises made without words, exploring each other, making love into the wee hours of the night, being domestic.

His mind played tricks on him; he swore he saw her sitting there, smiling at him. He shook his head and looked at his computer screen, bringing it to life with a slight movement to the mouse. Why did he still feel as though he'd made a mistake? As he'd told Ducky, even though the choice was not his, he felt as though he'd left part of himself in Israel back in October.

A noise from somewhere on the floor startled him out of his thoughts. He looked up and then around the areas, finally satisfied that the sound had come from a cleaning crew. He glanced at his watch; 1907. Twelve down, only seventy two hours to go.

Another three hours of computer games later, Tony stretched and stood up. His back and knees complained; he figured walking about the building would get him some exercise and hopefully relieve his back. First stop was autopsy to raid the Gremlin's snack stash. That proved fruitless when all he found was a jar of organic peanut butter and some organic raisins safely sealed in not-so-organic plastic. Ducky's desk held the old doctor's stash of tea, a reminder of Ziva's occasional afternoon visits with the elderly man.

A floor up in Abby's lab, a raid of her fridge and desk yielded two bottles of Caf-POW! (emergency supply, he deduced) and two packages of cheese snack crackers. He left the drink and took the crackers; disappointed that he'd not found more. On the main floor, the night guard waved to him.

"Evening, Agent DiNozzo," Stella called out. "What brings you here so late, and on Christmas Eve?"

Tony bit his tongue from replying the one word that crossed his mind – loneliness – and walked over to the desk. "I'm the agent on call through Friday 0700. Just as easy to be here as to be at home."

She looked at the senior field agent with sympathy; everyone knew about Agent David staying in Israel. "Well, okay then; if you need anything, you know where I am until 0700 tomorrow."

"Thanks," he continued his stroll through the building; next stop the second floor with its child care center. He paused at the darkened doorway to the kid care area. The last time he'd been here was with Ziva about eight months ago. She'd taken a gift to one of the workers who was going on maternity leave; on the elevator ride back to the bull pen, the couple looked at each other and grinned. The thought crossed his mind that one day in the future, they'd have a child in the daycare while they worked upstairs. The way she'd looked at him, he was pretty sure she'd had the same thought.

Back at his desk, he checked his email; then flipped on the TV behind his desk to watch ZNN news. Nothing of note; it had been a quiet day around the world. The time on the corner of the screen showed 2035 Eastern time, and the Central and Western times as well. His mind calculated the time in Tel Aviv; 0335 Christmas Day. Had his vacation been approved he would be there now. On an impulse he picked up his phone and sent a quick text to Ziva: _'Merry Christmas, Sweetcheeks. Ani ohev otach. T'_

He opened his desk drawer to retrieve a bottle of water; Ziva's necklace sat atop the blue velvet jeweler's box with his mother's engagement ring. The ring that had been on Ziva's finger for about five weeks earlier that year. He took the necklace in his hand, running the fine chain between his fingers. He brought the pendant to his lips; he could feel her in his soul when he held her necklace. It was her promise to him that she would come home one day; come back to him. It kept him going on the worst of the days since he came back to DC. He kept it in his desk when he was at work and on his nightstand at home when he was in the apartment.

He removed his shoes and propped his feet up on his desk, munching the cheese crackers from Abby's desk and sipping the water as he half-watched ZNN. He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew was the sound of an incoming text message on his phone. He grabbed the phone and swiped at the screen.

'_Merry Christmas, Tony. Z' _He read the message three times; she'd answered him! Did he dare try for more conversation? He quickly typed a reply and hit send: _'I miss you; are you doing okay?'_

No reply came back; he checked the time; 2322 in DC, 0622 in Israel. He grabbed his toothbrush from the desk and headed to the men's room to take care of his nightly routine. Then Tony climbed the stairs to the conference room; the couch in there made a decent bed in a pinch. He stretched out on the sofa with his phone in his hand in tone and vibrate mode should a reply text come in or a call.

In Israel, Ziva sipped her morning tea and nibbled on some toast, her breakfast of choice these days. It was all that seemed to stay down as she dealt with the morning sickness. She put her hand on her abdomen, picturing the life that was growing inside her. Twelve weeks pregnant; would she make it to another week, or to term? The last baby had miscarried at twelve weeks; she and Tony had been devastated in May. She remembered him kissing her abdomen the night they found out she was carrying their child. A tear slipped down her cheek and she defiantly brushed it aside. She could not tell him about this baby only to hurt him again; the shear pain of their loss on his face still haunted her.

She glanced at her phone; she had a text message. She swiped the screen; '_Merry Christmas, Sweetcheeks. Ani ohev otach, T'_ More tears slipped down her cheeks; her heart torn to pieces.

"Ani ohevet otcha," she whispered as she typed a reply. '_Merry Christmas, Tony. Z'_ She hit send before she thought twice about replying. One day she would be telling him the same in person; after all she'd promised to come back to him. He was her home, something she'd come to realize in the three months without him. She needed to get her head on straight; to deal with the demons haunting her and taking her mind in a downward trajectory. He deserved a whole Ziva, not one who had doubts, who felt that she did not deserve his love. She vowed to find a path to healing herself for him and for their child.

* * *

**A/N If you missed the story about the end of season 10, see "Aftermath."**


	8. All By Myself - 2015

Chapter 8: All By Myself - 2015

"Three day weekend for Christmas," Tim packed up and headed out after wishing his colleagues a Merry Christmas.

"Yeah, three days of feeling like a lost soul again," Tony muttered to himself. "Thought I got rid of the being alone at Christmas when I graduated college…"

Ellie looked up from her backpack, "Did you say something, Tony?"

"No; just talking to myself."

"Well, have a great Christmas."

"Um, yeah, you, too. Hope things work out the way you want," Tony waved to the junior agent.

"Agent DiNozzo," Leon Vance called out from the stairs. "A word with you?"

Tony walked over to meet the Director at the bottom of the stairs. "What's up, sir?"

"Just wanted to give you a heads' up; the coordinators of the NCIS holiday feed the homeless program may ask you to stay for extra shifts; they've had trouble getting volunteers this year," Vance informed the SFA.

"Not a problem; I can work the whole time, if they need," Tony replied. That would take care of at least six hours of Christmas Eve if he worked all four shifts. "Headed that way now. Merry Christmas, Director!"

"Merry Christmas, Tony,"

He arrived at the venue for the inter-agency Christmas meal at 1450; the first of the shifts for volunteers started at 1500. He signed in on the log and greeted the woman at the entrance.

"Tony DiNozzo here to work as long as you need me," he smiled.

"Be careful what you say; you may end up here until it's over," she winked at him and made a note on her sheet.

"No problem; I can stay all night if that's what you need."

"Go to the kitchen and ask for Gayle; she'll get you started for the first shift." Tony followed the others to the kitchen and Gayle put him in charge of the serving line.

"You'll supervise the serving line; refill pans of food as needed, get the volunteers who are serving the food in place and schedule breaks for those who are staying for more than one shift. I'll be in the kitchen or between kitchen and serving line if you need me. Thanks for volunteering, Agent DiNozzo."

"Got it; and call me Tony." He put on the chef's apron and plastic gloves she handed him and looked over the food line. There were all kinds of foods from mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, and ham to six or seven varieties of vegetables, plus a dessert section. If anyone left the event hungry it was their own fault.

The first of the people to be fed started coming through the line; Tony greeted them all and directed them towards the serving line with a cheerful "Merry Christmas." After the first two hours, several of the volunteers left and new volunteers came in. He rotated the new people in place and gave the three women who stayed for the second shift each a ten minute break one at a time.

More people were coming in to be fed and the place started filling up. He was running between kitchen and serving line with pans of food almost every ten minutes or so. The kitchen folks were cranking out fresh pans of food to keep up with crowd.

Gayle came around near the end of the second two-hour shift to check on things. Tony gave her a thumbs up as he was switching out pans of peas and carrots. Around 2000 the number of newcomers started to dwindle; they were still coming in but the tables were only about half full. Another hour to go, and then the volunteers would be in clean-up mode.

At 2100, the doors were closed and the last of the people eating the holiday meal drifted out of the building. Tony stayed and helped with clean-up; transferring food to smaller dishes and pans to be taken to several shelters for another meal. The volunteers also were fed so he got a plateful of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, and vegetables.

The last of the clean-up was finished about 2330; Tony and another man from the FBI took the last of the trash bags out to the dumpsters. Gayle thanked the volunteers and especially the four who had been there since before the first shift started. As Tony prepared to bundle up to go out into the cold night, he noticed the text message alert on his phone.

He swiped the screen; '_Merry Christmas, Tony. Z.'_ He grinned and hit reply. '_Merry Christmas, my Ninja. Still miss you like crazy. T'_ Just the one message from his soulmate, his Ninja, brightened his night. He headed out into the cold to drive home.

On the way to his apartment, he passed a Catholic church with a huge sign out front: '_Join us for midnight Mass; invite a miracle into your life this Christmas!_' Parishioners were decked in holiday finest and warm coats climbing the steps to the main entrance of the church. A light feathery snow was drifting in the air; Tony turned into the parking lot on a whim. Something about the church and the midnight service was calling him inside.

He hadn't been to a Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in forever; probably the last time he'd gone had been with Uncle Angelo and Aunt Isabella when he was eight or nine. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets as he climbed the stairs; he felt drawn to this service for a reason he could not explain.

"Merry Christmas," the usher handed him a service bulletin. "Welcome to our church."

"Thanks; Merry Christmas," he accepted the folded page and entered the nave, genuflecting and making the sign of the cross. He slid into a nearly empty pew a few rows from the back and glanced at the service bulletin. Not much had changed over the years; the only difference he noted was the lack of Latin for the parts of the service.

As the service progressed, Tony drifted into his thoughts. He wondered what Ziva was doing at that moment; it was about 0730 in Tel Aviv. He had the feeling that she was thinking about him; he could feel her soul strongly. He sighed and wished he were with her, anywhere in the world would be fine with him as long as she was by his side.

"Are you okay?" the woman sitting in his pew asked. His sigh must have been louder than he realized.

"Thanks, yes. Just thinking about someone who is not here," he gave the woman a small smile.

"I will pray for a Christmas miracle for you."

The priest started the sermon; he spoke of the miracles of Christmas and the wonders of the Christmas season. "And so, as we go forth to celebrate with family and friends, my wish for you is that your Christmas miracle brings light and love to you and yours. Amen."

The congregation sang _Joy to the World_ and then received the benediction. Worshipers filed out following the priest and altar attendants. Tony lingered; letting the others rush out to head home to families and Christmas trees and the excitement of children opening gifts. The message of a Christmas miracle stuck in his head. Would it be too much for him to wish for Ziva to be back with him next year for Christmas?

He headed into the narthex and noticed the candles. He slipped a twenty into the collection box and lit a candle for his mother. '_Merry Christmas, Mom,' _he whispered.

He was the last to leave; the priest shook his hand and greeted him as if he were a regular.

"Merry Christmas, son; turn your troubles over to our Lord and Savior. May your Christmas miracle come true in multiple ways," the man smiled and made a blessing over the younger man.

"Thank you, Father," Tony felt a peace come over him. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad Christmas after all.

He started his car and checked his phone; another text message alert. He swiped the screen and saw a new message from Ziva. '_In this season of miracles, maybe we will have ours in the year to come. Ani ohevet otcha. Z_' The tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he typed his reply; '_Miracles do happen. Ani ohev otach. T'_


	9. Family Together - 2016

Chapter 9: Family Together – 2016

"I think she is finally asleep," Ziva came into the small living room in the Paris flat where Tony was trying to clean up the scattered bits of wrapping paper and put the toys into some semblance of order.

"Well, I hope she sleeps through the night; she's been stuck on go all day," he grinned at his fiancée. It had been less than twenty four hours since she'd said yes and he was still riding the adrenaline high. "How can one child make such a mess?"

"She is your daughter," Ziva replied with a smirk. She moved over near her fiancé and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It is in her genetic make-up."

"Good thing I love you, Ms. David, mother of my children," Tony fused his lips on hers. He put one hand on her belly and wrapped the other behind her head. "Did I tell you that I (_kiss_) love (_kiss_) you (_kiss_)? Ani (_kiss_) ohev (_kiss_) otach!" He pulled her into a passionate kiss, not wanting to break contact.

"And I love you, Anthony DiNozzo. Ani ohevet otcha," Ziva pulled him towards the sofa. "I will never tire of saying that to you or hearing you tell me…" He cut her off with another kiss as he pulled her into his lap.

"In less than a week, you'll be my wife," Tony grinned at her with all of the love he felt for the woman who had given him the best gift of all. A daughter who seemed to be the best of each of them mixed into one mini-Ninja who had stolen his heart, and another baby on the way; he could not have asked for a better Christmas miracle a year ago.

"Maybe; perhaps I will change my mind," she teased. His look of shock caused her to let out a loud laugh.

"Don't you dare," he admonished, tugging her curls to tease back.

She grinned in his face, "After all we have been through to get to this, do you really think I would say no to becoming Mrs. Anthony DiNozzo? I like the sound of that: Ziva DiNozzo!"

"You're okay with taking my name? We can hyphenate, if you'd rather." She shushed him with her finger on his lips.

"Ziva **DiNozzo**; it gives me a chance to leave the curse of the David name behind me," her hands cupped his face as she gazed into his eyes. She saw the love she felt for this man reflected back in his gaze. Her eyes filled with tears; he noticed and gently brushed the corners of her eyes without breaking the gaze.

"Ziva," he choked on the tears forming in his own eyes. "Last Christmas I wished for a Christmas miracle that you would be with me this year. I got that and more; a beautiful daughter who has stolen her Abba's heart, another baby DiNozzo on the way, and YOU. My love, my everything, my completion… I don't think I could love you more than I do right now." He pulled her to him wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her curls at her shoulder.

She held him tightly; she was certain he was crying, but said nothing. He pulled away after a few minutes and nudged her up out of his lap. She stood and he lifted her shirt, exposing her bare belly.

"Hey, baby; you are so loved already," he kissed her stomach softly as she caressed his head and ran her fingers through his hair. "I know you're going to be just as perfect as your big sister." Ziva's eyes filled with tears at her lover's words. Her heart was filled with love for this man who changed her life for the better.

"Merry Christmas, baby," he whispered to her abdomen and kissed it another time. He stood up and pressed his lips to his very-soon-to-be-wife's mouth.

"Shall we take this into our bedroom?" she whispered into the next kiss.

"Is it okay if we? I mean, we won't hurt the baby or anything?"

She grinned at him, "It is okay, Tony. I already asked the doctor before you and Tali came into the room. She said it is fine to make love until close to the end." She wiped a hand across the front of his pants and teased, "Last one to the bedroom is on the bottom…"

He grinned and shut off the lights in the living room, following the Ninja to their bedroom…

* * *

**A/N If you missed the TIVA wedding, see "A Very TIVA Wedding.'**


	10. I Wouldn't Change a Thing - 2019

Chapter 10: I Wouldn't Change a Thing – 2019

Tony helped Tali and Anthony climb into their seats at Gibbs' table; then he went into the living room to help Ziva to the table. She was trying to get up from the loveseat as he entered the room. She gave him an exasperated look.

"Seven months; I feel like a beached whale," she complained to him. "If we have twins again, you are going to be the pregnant one, not me."

He knelt in front of her, placing a kiss on her large belly, "Don't listen to your Ima, mini-Ninjas. She loves you just as much as I do. She's just cranky because she's uncomfortable…" He kissed her belly again and felt the babies moving around.

Ziva put her hands in her husband's hair, "Mini-Ninjas is very accurate; they seem to move around like Ninja fighters when you talk to them!"

"Ani ohev otach, Zi," he grinned at her. "Be nice to my daughters; they are just juggling for space in there." He ducked as she tried to swat the back of his head. "Take my hands; I'll help you get up." He reached out to her as he stood up. She grabbed his hands and he pulled as she pushed up from the loveseat.

He helped her sit between Tali and the empty chair for himself. Anthony was on the other side of him having insisted that he had to be next to Katie McGee. Dee was on the end, next to her daughter. On the other side of Tali, Tori Palmer sat between her best friend and her father. Gibbs was at one end of the table, and Ducky at the other. Abby, Tim and John McGee, Tobias and Emily Fornell, Jared and Leon Vance, and Breanna filled the opposite side, with Charles Palmer in his highchair between his mother and Gibbs. Ducky asked all to join hands around the table and offered a blessing for the meal.

Ziva's lasagna, the ham that the McGees brought, and Gibbs' roast beef along with many side dishes were shared and enjoyed by all. After the meal, Abby, Emily, Breanna, Delilah, and Jared cleared the table and washed dishes while the others moved to the living room to chat.

Ziva moved around several times adjusting herself to try to get comfortable; even with the special donut cushion to take some of the pressure off her spine, her back ached. Tony helped her get up each time she needed to use the bathroom, listening to her grumbling about HIS daughters pressing on her bladder and spine.

Clay, Ellie, and Nick joined the rest of the extended family as the children opened gifts from family. Charles climbed into Ducky's lap and snuggled into the old doctor; Grandducky made a great pillow for a little boy. Jared and Leon left to pick up Kayla at Dulles, and Emily and Tobias wished everyone a Merry Christmas and headed home.

Gibbs nodded to Tony, who took the remote for the DVD player and TV in hand as he announced, "Time for _It's a Wonderful Life_. Get settled and comfortable and on with the show!" He pressed the buttons to turn the electronics on and start the DVD playing. He put the remote on the armrest of the loveseat and sat next to his wife, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

He glanced around at the others; Tali was prone on a blanket on the floor, her legs bent at the knees and her chin propped on her hands. Anthony and Katie sat next to Ellie on the blanket, holding hands. John was in Clay's lap on the floor. Tori was sitting by her parents who were on one end of the sofa; Tim and Dee were on the other end. Gibbs was in his recliner; Abby and Nick had brought chairs in from the kitchen. Family was what you made with love, he thought as he smiled to himself and turned to watch the movie.

Ziva rested her head on Tony's shoulder and leaned into his side; his warmth felt good. His hand drifted to her belly and gently rested there. He turned so that she could lean back against his chest; one hand stayed over her abdomen, the other absently played with her curls.

"You know, if I had to do my life over again, I wouldn't have it any other way," he whispered in her ear. "Family is what is the most important thing in the world, and where ever you and the kids are is home. Ani ohev otach."

"Merry Christmas, Tony. Ani ohevet otcha," she murmured in reply.

* * *

**A/N For another Christmas 2019 story, see 'Grandducky' from last Christmas (Dec 2018)**


	11. Circle of Life - 2021

Chapter 11: Circle of Life – 2021

Tony watched his four older kids walk to Gibbs' front door; Tali, now seven and one half years old, led her younger siblings. She had a twenty two month twin by the hand on each side and four and one half year old Anthony followed his sisters. Tali and Anthony each had a small backpack with some Christmas toys and books. Ziva carried two month old LJ, while Tony brought up the rear with the oversized diaper bag, LJ's rocker carrier and a large tote bag of home-baked Christmas cookies.

He was glad Ziva had insisted on bringing over the pans of lasagna the previous night; that meant less for him to carry today. Gibbs held the door open as the DiNozzo family made their entrance to the annual family Christmas celebration.

Four year old John and Katie McGee rushed to greet Anthony and soon the three were comparing their new kid-friendly tablets. Three and one half year old Charles Palmer alternated between the older kids and Beth and Rivka, who were happily pulling the wooden cars and blocks out of the bin Grandpa Gibbs kept in the corner of the living room. Tali and six and one half year old Tori were chatting about Christmas presents received so far. LJ was watching everything and smiling as others smiled at him. Gibbs took the baby from Ziva and sat in his recliner with the little boy in his arms.

Ziva went to the kitchen to help Breena, Delilah, Abby, and Ellie with preparing the meal for the family. The pans of lasagna were already heating in the oven; Abby was making a salad, Breena was mashing potatoes, and Delilah was making gravy from the pan drippings from the turkey that came out of the oven earlier. Ellie was trying to coordinate serving bowls, serving utensils, and food.

"What can I do?" Ziva asked the others.

"Um, you can get the table set for however many of us there are," Abby responded.

"I can do that," Ziva mentally counted how many would be at the table; her six, four McGees, four Palmers, Abby, Clay and Ellie, and Gibbs. The family 'grandfather' (Ducky) would be the only one missing from previous years. He had passed away a few days after LJ was born. Ziva was glad she and Tony had taken the newborn to meet his Grandducky.

Ziva grabbed flatware for eighteen; she called to Tony from the dining room. "Tony, I need some help with the tablecloth, please."

Tim popped his head around the corner, "Will I do? Tony had to take LJ upstairs to change his diaper and clothes." Ziva nodded and the two placed the festive Christmas tablecloth that Ellie found last year on clearance over the table.

"Who should we put at the end where Ducky…" Tim's thoughts drifted to the old doctor who had been like a kindly grandfather to them all.

Ziva thought a minute, "The next oldest after Gibbs? That would be Tony."

"Works for me."

Ziva put place settings for each person around the table; Tim put booster seats for the DiNozzo twins and for Charles at the chairs where Ziva put the children's utensils. Anthony wandered in to the dining room and watched his Ima and uncle set the table.

"Does this mean we're eating soon? I'm hungry, Ima."

"Soon, motek. Go wash your hands and tell the others to get ready to eat," she smiled at her older son. Anthony was so much like his Abba; he had definitely inherited the DiNozzo food genes.

"Almost time to eat," the little boy shouted to the others in the living room. "Go wash your hands!" He ran to be the first one in the small half bath downstairs. Tali, Tori, and the McGee twins ran up the stairs to use one of the upstairs bathrooms. John almost ran into Tony.

"Whoa, little McHurry, where're you going in such a rush?"

"It's almost time to eat, Uncle Tony; we have to wash our hands," John called over his shoulder as he followed the others to the hall bath.

Tony smiled; some days he'd swear John McGee was one of his kids. He repositioned LJ in his arms and headed downstairs. Ziva met him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Diaper blow-out," Tony explained. "He's all cleaned up for now. He's getting sleepy."

"Thank you for taking care of him; it's almost time to eat. We decided that you should sit at the opposite end of the table from Gibbs. Where Ducky…" she took LJ from his father as Tony grabbed the rocker carrier from behind one of the recliners.

Clay was putting the last pan of lasagna on the table as the herd of kids stampeded into the dining room. Tony was about to say something to his four when Gibbs made eye contact and shook his head slightly. Nothing wrong with hungry kids as far as Grandpa was concerned.

"I want 'san-ya," Beth pointed to the largest pan of the baked favorite.

Anthony looked over the array of food items, "I want some of everything!"

"Me, too," John grinned at his cousin.

"Just a minute, everyone. We have to have a blessing," Abby reminded the children. She looked to Gibbs expectantly.

"Not my thing; that's why Ducky always did it," he shrugged. The others looked at Tony since he was sitting where the old doctor used to be.

"Um, not my thing, either. Abbs?" Tony looked hopefully at Abby. She looked around at the others, who seemed to be in agreement with Tony.

"Everyone join hands," Abby grabbed hold of Clay's hand on her left and Rivka's on the right. After everyone was holding hands, she gave a blessing for the meal and thanks for family. "Let's eat!"

Ziva served lasagna; Gibbs carved slices from the turkey. Others served from whatever was in front of them as each person's plate was passed; the kids were served first. Ziva served herself and Tony last. For such a large, rambunctious bunch, they were unusually quiet as each one ate the delicious food.

Anthony emptied his plate first and held it up, "More lasagna please, Ima!" His plate was passed to Ziva and she put another piece of lasagna on her son's plate. John passed his plate for more as well, followed by his father.

"Excellent lasagna as always, Ziva," Tim complimented his sister of the heart. "I better get more before Tony asks for seconds." He smirked at his brother of the heart. Tony stuck his tongue out at Tim.

Ziva swatted Tony's arm, "Behave, you. The children are watching you."

"Aw, Zi; you spoil all my fun," he grinned at his wife.

"Not ALL," she held a sprig of mistletoe over his head and leaned in to kiss him. He fused his lips to hers; he would have led the kiss longer, but he could hear Gibbs clearing his throat from the other end of the table.

"Save that for later," he whispered as they went back to eating the meal. She smirked at him as she tucked the sprig into her pants pocket and nodded.

Everyone was just about done with eating when LJ started fussing in his rocker seat. Ziva took the baby upstairs to nurse him and the kids went into the living room to play.

Tony stood up, "I think since the ladies did most of the work to get the meal on the table, the men should clean up." He looked at Jimmy, Tim, and Clay. All three nodded their agreement and started taking empty plates and remaining food to the kitchen.

When the men finished the dishes and putting the food away, the kids were chomping at the bit to open presents. Ziva brought LJ back downstairs; she was going to put him in the rocker carrier, but Gibbs reached out for the baby. She placed him in Gibbs' arms.

"I think there's a special connection between LJ and Gibbs," Delilah noted. Ziva and the others nodded.

Tony overheard the comment, "My kid will not be a mini-Gibbs; thank you very much." The remark earned him a glare from the older man. "Dang, Boss; how do you do that? My head hurts without you touching it!" He rubbed the back of his head as he spoke.

"Not your boss any more, Tony."

Ziva put her finger on her husband's lips, locking gazes with him. "Better to be quiet than to have to eat your foot," she spoke quietly so that just he could hear her. He grinned around her finger; he knew she mangled the idiom on purpose.

"I want to open presents now!" Charles broke the silence and ran to the pile of gifts by the small Christmas tree. He picked a random box from the pile and started to tear the wrapping paper.

"Hold on, buddy," Jimmy grabbed his son's arm. "Let's make sure that one is for you; okay?" The boy made a face of disappointment at his father but stopped tearing at the paper. "See, it says 'To Tori, from Aunt Abby.'" Jimmy pointed to the tag. "Let's give it to your sister to open and find one with your name on it." Charles handed the gift to his sister and followed his father to the stack of gifts.

"Here's one for Anthony," Jimmy held out the brightly wrapped box for his nephew to take. He found one for each of the kids to open.

"Okay, now on three you can all open the gifts. One, two, three," Tim barely got out of the way of the flying paper and ribbons as eight kids tore into their gifts. Little ones squealed and shared what they received. Tony, Tim, and Breena took snapshots and short videos with their phones as Clay ran the standard video camera to capture the whole thing.

Twenty minutes later, bits of paper and ribbon were everywhere; each child had a stack of gifts from Gibbs, Abby, Ellie and Clay, and the other families. Ziva and Breena each had a large garbage bag and were trying to get the discarded paper, ribbons, and boxes off the floor. Ziva looked up as she was picking up strips of wrapping paper. She nudged Tony who was next to her taking a picture of Tali with her books from the Palmers.

"Look at Gibbs and LJ," she said into his ear. Both were sound asleep in the recliner; the baby cradled in his grandfather's arms. Tony turned the phone and took a picture of the two; one for the memory books for sure.

After all the gifts were unwrapped, Tony and Ziva took the bags of trash out to the trash bin in the driveway. Tony held the lid up while Ziva placed her two bags in the can and then deposited his two bags. He let the lid down and pulled Ziva to him.

"Still got that mistletoe in your pocket, Mrs. DiNozzo?" he murmured in her ear.

"Mm-hmm, Mr. DiNozzo. What did you have in mind?" she grinned as the couple locked gazes.

Instead of speaking, Tony pulled his wife into a kiss, locking his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he put a hand at her waist and the other behind her head. He threaded his fingers into her curls.

As they broke for air, he spoke softly, "Merry Christmas, Ziva. I love you more each day that we are together. We don't get much time alone with five kids, but…"

She cut him off by locking her lips on his. When she pulled back to catch her breath, she whispered, "Merry Christmas, Tony. Ani ohevet otach. You are my everything…"


	12. Santa's Helpers - 2027

Chapter 12: Santa's Helpers – 2027

Only one week until Christmas; it was the following Saturday from the annual NCIS holiday toy drive and distribution to kids in hospitals and shelters. Tony adjusted the buckle on the belt for his Santa Claus costume; Ziva jokingly patted his midsection and smiled.

"You do not need as much padding this year?" she smirked at him as he got the belt just the way he wanted it.

"I'm not the only one; Tim has put on some pounds too," he grabbed the hat and beard off the end of the bed.

"I was just teasing; you know I have changed shape with four pregnancies," she kissed his cheek and adjusted the fluffy white beard over his face.

"Are the kids ready to go?" he asked his wife as he admired her Mrs. Santa outfit. "Did Anthony finally agree to the elf costume?" Ten-year-old Anthony had not been too keen on the red, white and green striped elf leggings and top that he was supposed to wear as one of Santa's helpers.

Ziva chuckled, "Yes, Katie told him that he looked handsome in the outfit, so that changed his mind. I would bet Delilah put her up to it."

"Whatever works."

The couple walked to the hallway for the kids' bedrooms. Ziva called out for the kids to get ready to leave while Tony pocketed his phone and wallet and grabbed keys for the family minivan.

All five appeared from their rooms, dressed in festive holiday outfits to be Santa's elves. All of the nine Gibbs' grandkids were helping this year as well as the parents. Tony and Tim had been Santa's helpers for the past five Christmases after being volunteered by Gibbs in 2022. Jimmy was also a Santa this year instead of an elf; the elf jobs had been passed on the children. Leon was a Santa for the first time this year. Ziva, Delilah, Breena, and Abby were dressed as Mrs. Claus.

Tony drove the family to their assigned hospital; he spotted the McGee minivan and Gibbs' truck as he pulled into the parking lot. A large trailer full of donated toys and gifts for the children in the hospital was parked near the loading zone. Ziva checked the family in with the volunteer coordinator; Dee was right behind her.

"Thanks for getting Katie to get Anthony to wear his elf costume," Ziva mentioned to Delilah. She looked over to where the seven kids were gathered in a group. "Look at him strutting and showing off for her."

"It didn't take much to convince her; I think that girl would moon over your son if he had on a burlap sack," Dee grinned.

"That is true. He would do the same with her."

Ziva handed Tony the list of gifts and recipients to whom they were assigned as Dee handed Tim a similar list. Gibbs had his list in hand as the three Santas approached the trailer to get their assigned boxes and sacks of presents.

Gibbs called the family together, "Okay, elves and Mrs. Clauses, get with your Santa so we can carry these gifts inside." Tali, Beth, and LJ lined up with their Grandpa Gibbs. Ziva, John, and Rivka stood by Tony; Dee, Anthony, and Katie formed a group by Tim. Each group stacked their boxes and Santa sacks on a cart to bring the piles in to the children's wards.

Across town, Leon and Abby, the Palmer family, and Nick, his wife, and Kasie were similarly gathering assigned gifts to take to children in homeless shelters. Only Clay and Ellie were not participating this year; they had a week-old newborn and a sixteen-month-old at home.

Tony and Ziva were assigned to the cancer ward for kids. John and Rivka helped get the presents to the kids as Tony called out names and read the child's letter to Santa. Ziva coordinated with parents of the kids to get them in place for a picture with Santa Tony. Several of the kids wanted Mrs. Claus in the picture as well.

Gibbs was with the kids in the critical care award. Tali carried the master list and helped arrange for photos with Santa Gibbs if the parents wanted the pictures. LJ and Beth carried presents to give to the parents or for Gibbs to hand to the child.

Tim and Delilah were assigned to the rehab ward; many of the children in their assigned area were facing years of physical therapy, adjusting to artificial limbs, or learning to use a wheelchair or walker. Several of the kids bonded with Dee when they noticed her chair. One girl in particular hung around Delilah most of the time she was in the ward. In between talking to parents and helping kids get in place with Santa Tim for pictures, she and the girl talked about being in a chair.

After the gifts were given out, and each group had a small party, Santas, Mrs. Clauses, and elves all met back in the parking lot. It had been a fun but exhausting afternoon. Ziva could tell her five were thinking about the other kids they'd seen that day. The plan had been for everyone to head to the DiNozzo house for dinner and change back to regular clothes.

"Ziva, do you need us to pick up anything on the way to your house?" Dee asked her sister of the heart.

Ziva thought a minute, and then shook her head, "No thank you; I think I have everything we need for dinner. I have two crockpots of stew, bread, a salad, and dessert."

"Ice cream?" LJ looked hopefully at his Ima.

Tony ruffled his youngest's hair, "Of course!" LJ grinned his DiNozzo grin and gave his Abba a thumb's up. "So, who's riding with whom?" He looked at the kids.

"I'm with Grandpa," LJ moved over by Gibbs.

"Is there room for me to ride with Riv?" John asked.

Anthony nodded, "You can take my place and I'll take yours and ride with Katie." He smiled at his cousin; he would do just about anything to be with her. She grinned back at him and nodded.

Tali was unusually quiet. Both of her parents noticed that she had not said much as the family gathered in the parking lot. Ziva walked with her daughter to the family van.

"Are you okay, yaldati?" she quietly asked the teen.

"I'm just thinking about all those sick kids, Ima. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in the hospital day after day and on Christmas," Tali replied. "I wish there was more we could do for them."

"Well you did help make their Christmas a little brighter today."

"I know, but why should we wait until Christmas to do something for these kids? Why can't we do something special for them just because?" Tali was thinking out loud.

Ziva hugged her oldest, "You have a good heart, Tali. You get that from your Abba." They got into the van with the others and headed back to the DiNozzo house. Ziva noticed that Tali was mostly quiet on the ride home, staring out the window as the others chatted.

"She okay?" Tony mouthed to his wife.

"Thinking about the sick kids," Ziva replied softly.

"Me too," he responded. "Makes me appreciate that while I may have been alone, at least I was healthy when I had to stay at the boarding school because Senior conveniently forgot about me."

She intertwined her hand with his on the center console and gave a slight squeeze; she knew that even after all these years, the memories were still painful for her soulmate. She understood that pain of being abandoned all too well. She also knew that was why she and Tony both emphasized the importance of family to their five. Neither one had missed an important event or milestone for their kids; the painful memories of their own pasts reminding both parents to be actively present in their children's lives.

Once inside, Ziva reminded her five that they still had chores to do, "DiNozzos, once you get changed to regular clothes, remember that you have your usual chores to do. The table needs to be set for twelve, whoever has that chore tonight."

"That's me, Ima," Rivka called out. John offered to help her after he changed clothes. John followed Anthony to his room to change, and Katie followed Tali to her room. LJ offered his room to Gibbs, who followed the boy down the hall.

Ziva and Tony headed towards their room; and Tim and Delilah used Tony and Ziva's offices to change. Ziva stirred the stew in the crockpots before heading back to the master bedroom. Tony stopped with her and pulled her into a kiss, pointing to the mistletoe he placed over the kitchen table.

"Are you going to kiss me under every sprig of mistletoe that you have put around this house?" she grinned at her husband in his Santa suit minus the beard and hat.

"Is that a request, Mrs. DiNozzo?" he smirked at her. "Or a challenge? Either way, I can make your wish come true. After all, I am Santa's helper…" She shut him up by fusing her lips on his.

"If we didn't have all these hungry people in the house, I'd just take you back to our room and put some jingle in your night," he murmured in her ear.

"I will take you up on that offer later tonight," she gave him one last kiss and tugged him in the direction of the master bedroom. They nearly ran into Tim coming out of the hallway to the offices.

"Behave, you two! Santa is watching, you know," Tim shook his head at them and waggled a finger in their direction.

The couple shared a mischievous look and locked lips, knowing it would embarrass their brother a bit. He walked towards the kitchen just shaking his head; some things never changed.

At the dinner table, everyone enjoyed the stew; it was a family favorite. They talked about the afternoon of giving to the presents to the children and brightening their holiday. Tali waited until a break in the conversation before she spoke up.

"What if we were to do something special for the sick kids after the New Year, just because we want to? Something to show them that somebody cares all year long?" she asked the others.

"You mean bring them presents again?" LJ spoke up first.

"Well, we can't bring them food, because some of the kids are on special diets," Katie added her thoughts.

"How about Valentine's Day?" Beth suggested.

Rivka nodded her agreement with her twin, "Yeah, we could collect Valentine cards for the kids."

John had listened to his cousins, thinking about the ideas tossed out, "How about we collect teddy bears for them?

"Yeah, Abba, you could put a bin at FLETC; and Ima, Grandpa, Uncle Tim, you could put one at NCIS. And Aunt Dee, I bet you could put a collection bin at DoD, too," Anthony was thinking aloud.

"Could we have the kids at our school make them cards?" LJ mused.

Ideas flew around the table and the conversation gradually increased in volume as the kids became more excited about the ideas. Tony finally rapped his wine glass with his fork to get everyone's attention.

"I think," he began, "That you have come up with an awesome idea. I'll ask at the office on Monday, and we can take the idea to your schools after the holiday break."

Gibbs added his opinion, "I know I can get Leon to approve the idea for collecting teddy bears at NCIS."

Dee added, "I'll ask my boss on Monday as well. I really like this idea!"

Plans were made to follow up with the rest of the family and with the various agencies and schools that would be involved. After dessert and watching _A Charlie Brown Christmas_, the McGees and Gibbs headed home.

Later that night, the elder DiNozzos were in their room getting ready for bed. Tony slipped his arms around his love from behind.

"I'm so proud of our kids; what a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas spirit well into next year."

Ziva nodded and leaned into his embrace; his warmth felt so good, "Yes, it is. We have five very special children, you know."

"Of course, they are DiNozzos mixed with David," he joked as he turned her to face him. "They get their generous hearts from you, my Ninja."

Ziva smiled at her soulmate, "They get their caring hearts from you, my love." She locked lips with her best friend. "Merry Christmas, Tony," she breathed into the next kiss as things began to heat up.

"Merry Christmas, Ziva," he took her in his arms and placed her on the bed. He pointed to the triple sprig of mistletoe above them and gave her his best Ziva-only grin before fusing his lips to hers once more…


	13. A Distinct Lack of Toys - 2032

Chapter 13: A Distinct Lack of Toys – 2032

23:48 on Friday 24 December; Tony carried the last of the gifts from his office hiding places to the family room to place under the Christmas tree. Ziva was nowhere in sight, which was a good thing. He placed his gifts for her under the tree except for one. He slipped the small black velvet jewelers' box into the pocket of his hoodie just as she turned the corner from the hallway to their offices and the master suite.

She noticed his sly grin immediately; choosing to ignore it for the moment, she placed several wrapped packages under the tree. "No they are not all for you," she teased as she stood. He had moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She hummed her appreciation as he nuzzled into her neck.

"Well then are they toys for the kids?" he quipped. It was then that he realized there were NO toys under the tree, at least that he knew of. There was a new laptop computer for Tali to use for her classes at Georgetown; Anthony's gifts included accessories for his video camera from the previous year and newer versions of video editing software. Rivka and Beth also had new laptops waiting for them under the tree. Almost all of LJ's gifts were art supplies, watercolor and acrylic paints, brushes, canvases, and a portable easel.

Ziva turned to him, "Now that you say that, there are no toys under the tree. At least none that I know about." She cuddled into him, feeling the warmth from him even through her own hoodie and jeans.

"What? No deciphering instructions for assembly of some large object tonight? You mean we may actually get to bed at a decent hour?" he remembered Christmases past when he and Ziva had spent hours assembling some toy or large item for one or the other of the kids.

She grinned, "What are we going to do with all that extra time? Yes, there is a distinct lack of toys this year!" She cupped his face with her hands and gazed into his green eyes; the eyes that drew her into their depths without much effort. She rubbed her thumb over his cheek as they locked eyes.

Tony wrapped his arms around her and moved his left arm so that he could glance at his watch; almost the time he wanted it to be. He fused his lips on hers, drawing her to him. He heard the clock in the living room strike midnight. He pulled back slightly and took Ziva's hands in his.

"Do you remember sixteen years ago tonight?" he squeezed her hands slightly as she nodded.

She replied, "Of course, it was our first Christmas as a family. You, me, and Tali in Paris, with that tiny menorah and the Christmas tree that was not much taller than Tali as I remember. Oh, and we had just confirmed the pregnancy with Anthony."

"But there was something else; midnight…" he hoped to get her to say it.

Ziva pretended to think, "I am not sure; was there something else?" The twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him gave her away; of course she remembered that night! "Oh, yes, you put your mother's engagement ring on my finger…"

He grinned his best Ziva-only smile and got down on one knee. His knees protested, and he'd probably never get up easily, but he was determined to recreate that night. He reached into his hoodie pocket and drew out the velvet box. He flipped it open with his right hand; his left still holding Ziva's right hand.

"Ziva DiNozzo, you are the cheese to my ham; the jelly to my peanut butter," he began, goofing a bit to keep his tears at bay.

She chuckled and reached her left hand to caress his face. "So now we are messy foods?" she teased picking up on his attempt to keep from tearing up.

He blinked the tears that were forming away and cleared his throat, "Ziva, seriously, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I couldn't imagine a life without you. I told you a long time ago that I couldn't live without you. I still can't and I hope I never have to." He held up the ring box with a diamond eternity band set in rose gold. "Will you be my forever?"

Ziva gasped and fought the tears, "Yes, yes, yes, Anthony DiNozzo, I will be your forever, for always, for eternity. I love you so much, neshama sheli." She bent and wrapped her arms around his neck, fusing her lips on his. He sat on the floor and pulled her into his lap.

They broke for air and he picked up the ring box from the floor next to him. "Let me put this on your finger, Sweetcheeks," he took her hand and slid the ring on her left ring finger. It stacked nicely with her wedding and engagement rings. "Ani ohev otach, Ziva, lenatsecha." He leaned in for another passionate kiss, pouring every ounce of love he felt for this woman into it.

"Shall we move this celebration to our bedroom, my love?" Ziva suggested.

He nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me; but I have just one question."

"Oh?"

"How in the hell are we going to get up off the floor?"


	14. A New Generation - 2037

Chapter 14: A New Generation – 2037

"I seriously think we've officially gone overboard," Tony declared as he and Ziva piled the gifts for grandsons Levi and soon-to-be-born Anthony IV around the Christmas tree. There had to be at least thirty packages for Levi and about twenty for Anthony, all from Saba and Savta.

"That is a grandparent's prerogative, is it not?" Ziva smiled thinking about their five-month-old Levi and due-in-March Anthony. She was about to say something else when they heard a sound from the front entry foyer.

Tony put a finger to his lips as he and Ziva tiptoed to peek around the corner of the wall into the hallway to the front of the house. Seventeen-year-old Rivka (almost eighteen, if you asked her) was kissing John McGee by the front door.

"Come on," she took his hand and started to lead him to the hallway to her bedroom. She and John both looked up at the same time to see her parents standing there. "Um, hi Ima; hi, Abba. John's going to spend the night… in Anthony's old room."

John looked at his feet, "If that's okay Uncle Tony and Aunt Ziva? Katie's room shares a bathroom with mine and …"

Tony scowled as Ziva smiled at the two, "We had this talk last year; just respect the others in the house. Please."

"Thanks, Ima; thanks Abba," Riv hugged her mother and then her father. "Merry Christmas!"

"John, do your parents know you're here? I wouldn't want them freaking out when you aren't there in the morning," Tony put a hand on his twenty-year-old nephew's shoulder.

"Yeah, Dad was in his office wrapping a baby monitor system when I left," the young man replied. "Thanks, Uncle Tony."

The two young people headed down the hallway as the DiNozzo parents walked back to the family room. One nice thing about having nearly grown children was that they weren't up at a late hour putting gifts around the Christmas tree; it was only 2230 currently.

"You KNOW he's going to be in her bed, right, Zi?"

"I thought we talked this out last Thanksgiving, yes?"

Tony sighed, "Yeah, we did; still not overly happy about that, but I guess I'll live… At least she's in Tali's old room and a bit away from the other two."

Ziva stopped under the mistletoe that was hung over the entrance to the kitchen from the hallway, "Come here and let me distract you," she purred.

He grinned at her and gave her the once-over elevator eyes, "Sweetcheeks, you don't need mistletoe to distract me…" He wrapped his arms around her and fused his lips to hers. When they broke for air, he asked, "Are all the gifts under the tree?"

"Mm-hmm," she murmured into the next kiss. "Shall we take this party elsewhere?"

On Christmas morning, Ziva got up about 0700 to prepare the pans of lasagna for dinner that afternoon. With two ovens, she would able to bake all three at the same time. Once the pans were ready, she wrapped them with foil and placed them in the refrigerator until time for baking. As she took out the ingredients to make a farmers' omelet for breakfast, LJ and Tony appeared in the kitchen.

Ziva handed Tony a cutting board and knife and he chopped the tomatoes, onions, baby spinach leaves, and the potatoes that Ziva had cooked the night before. She handed LJ the packages of turkey bacon and turkey sausage; the sixteen-year-old grabbed a pan and began cooking the meats on the stove. Ziva grated the cheddar cheese into a pile and then began cracking eggs into a large bowl for whisking. She added salt and pepper to the eggs and a bit of cream and beat the mixture until it was frothy.

LJ and Tony alternated layers of meat and vegetables in the two cast iron skillets. Ziva divided the egg mixture between the two and slid the skillets into the oven that she'd already preheated. John and Rivka came into the kitchen as the other three were cleaning up the preparation tools.

"Merry Christmas; there's coffee brewed, and orange juice in the fridge," Tony greeted the two. "Guess your sister is the late sleeper today."

"She worked a double shift yesterday and the day before, Abba. Let her sleep," LJ explained. "I think she put together over a dozen bikes between 1800 and closing yesterday."

"Nineteen," Beth yawned as she came into the kitchen. "Coffee…" She grabbed a mug off the mug tree and poured herself some. "Charles was a god-send when he came to help around 1830." Ziva noticed the sparkle in her youngest daughter's eyes when she mentioned her boyfriend.

"Ima, can I make biscuits to have with the farmers' omelet?" Rivka volunteered. Ziva nodded and Riv and John started mixing biscuit dough and prepping a baking sheet.

"Oh, by the way, Ima, Aunt Breena said that she'd heat the roast beef and gravy at her house before they come over. She sliced the meat last night after their party," Beth added.

John turned, "Mom had six loaves of bread and two huge salads made last night. I think she said they'd be over around 1130; Anthony and Katie are going to pick up Grandpa on the way over. Is Grandpa making his apple pies again this year?"

Ziva nodded, "Yes to the apple pies. Tali and Chaim will be here around that same time; she said Levi is usually awake from his morning nap around 1100." She checked the timer on the oven, "Beth, would you set the table for breakfast, please?"

"Got it, Ima," she grabbed forks and knives from the drawer. "Kitchen or dining room?"

"Abba and I will sit at the counter and the four of you can use the breakfast nook table," Ziva responded. "Abba and LJ put the leaves in the dining room table yesterday. Just six at a table ready for sixteen would be overkill."

Tony poured juice for everyone and refilled coffee mugs; Ziva pulled the two pans of farmers' omelet from the oven just as Riv's timer for the biscuits buzzed. LJ got six plates from the cabinet and put the stack on the counter.

"Serve yourself," Ziva motioned for John to go first. LJ and the twins followed him and the four young people sat at the table. Tony served his plate and handed the last plate to his wife.

"I know why you put us at the counter," he whispered in her ear. "Mistletoe!" He grinned at her as she winked at him and pointed to the sprig hanging over the barstools at the counter. "Did you forget that LJ put one over the table?" he pointed above Riv's head.

John looked where Uncle Tony was pointing; he spotted the mistletoe and brushed his lips on Riv's with a grin. "Mistletoe," he pointed up.

Not to be outdone, as soon as Ziva sat at the counter, Tony pulled her into a kiss, lingering a bit longer than John had. "Mistletoe," he whispered.

By 1230 everyone was at the DiNozzo house; shortly after Tali and Chaim arrived with a half-asleep Levi, LJ put on his Abba's Santa hat and beard and started handing out gifts. Levi's stack of opened gifts grew as his parents opened all thirty one gifts from Tony and Ziva, the gifts from aunts and uncles, and the wooden rocker seat that converted to a rocking horse from Great-grandpa Gibbs and Uncle LJ.

Katie and Anthony had an impressive stack of baby items as well. Most of the gifts were opened and each family member was thanking others when Ziva noticed Charles fidgeting next to Beth. She nudged Tony.

"Watch Charles," she whispered. "I think we are going to see a big moment." Tony looked at the young couple and nodded to his wife in agreement.

There was a lull in the conversation, and Charles decided it was now or never. He took Beth's hand in his. "Beth, I've known for a while now that you and I are meant to be together." He pulled something out of his pocket, "I promise that I will love you for the rest of my days." He slid the promise ring on her finger as she wiped away tears with her other hand.

"Yes, I will promise to be true to you," she pulled him into a kiss to the cheers of the rest of the family.

Gibbs lifted his coffee mug and rapped his knuckles on the end table next to the recliner, "A toast to family, to my grandkids who are becoming fine adults, and to the next generation. Merry Christmas."

"Hear, hear."

"L'chaim."

Levi let out a loud wail as he stirred in his rocker carrier, bringing a chuckle from the others. Tali took the baby into her arms and headed to her Ima's office to change his diaper and nurse him.

"Hey, he IS half DiNozzo, you know," Tim quipped to more laughter.

Tony smirked at his brother of the heart, "And so is YOUR grandson to be! Merry Christmas, everyone." He turned to Ziva, pulling her to him, "Merry Christmas, Zi. Ani ohev otach. Mistletoe!" He pointed upward and locked his lips on hers.

"Merry Christmas, Tony. Ani ohevet otcha," she returned the kiss, caressing his face with her hand as she fused her lips to his.

* * *

**A/N For more on Rivka and John in this time frame, see Rivka's chapter in 'Teens in the House'**


	15. A Houseful - 2040

Chapter 15: A Houseful – 2040

"All I'm saying, Zi, is that we've had our DiNozzo holiday mishap already this year," Tony was explaining why he thought Christmas would be uneventful in 2040 as the couple walked from their bedroom to the kitchen.

"I would hardly call the arrival of Katie and Anthony's twins on Thanksgiving night and early the next morning a mishap," she argued. "Katie's water breaking is a natural part of childbirth."

"But in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner?" he smirked at her. "They ARE DiNozzos, you understand."

"Mornin'," Gibbs was sipping his morning coffee and eating his oatmeal at the table in the breakfast nook. His walker was against the wall behind his chair. "Gonna snow; knees say so."

"You sure, Boss?" Tony knew that snow was not in the forecast for the holidays.

"Not your Boss anymore, Tony. Knees don't lie."

"Uh, okay, Dad." He turned to Ziva who was making French toast for their Sunday breakfast. Just as he was about to ask her if she wanted tea or coffee with her breakfast, LJ came into the kitchen

"Morning, everyone," the twenty-year-old stretched his six foot four inch frame and yawned. "Hi, Grandpa. Ima, what's for breakfast; I'm starved!"

"French toast with cinnamon," she replied as Tony gave his youngest a hurt puppy look.

LJ smirked at his Abba, "Oh, hello, Abba…" He ducked as Tony tried to swat the back of his head and poured himself a mug of coffee. There was only a small amount left in the pot, so he topped off his grandfather's mug and started a new pot brewing.

Ziva flipped the French toast slices on the griddle; her phone rang just as she turned the last of the slices. "Shalom, yaldati." She listened for about thirty seconds and then said "good bye."

She turned to the others, "That was Beth; John and Riv got in from Atlanta last night. They are all going to go to out for breakfast and then head this way." Beth and Charles, and John and Rivka were staying at the Palmer house. Jimmy and Breena had flown to Okinawa to be with Jared and Tori and their kids for the holidays. Little Jackie was almost four and baby Patrick was almost nine months.

Tony poured coffee into a mug for himself and poured the hot water into Ziva's mug for her tea as she put slices of French toast on plates for the three DiNozzos. LJ grabbed the maple syrup out of the fridge and they joined Gibbs at the breakfast nook table.

After breakfast, Gibbs went back to his room, LJ cleaned up from breakfast and Ziva and Tony made a shopping list of last minute items for the next three days. Tony reminded Ziva to put cellophane tape (lots of it) on the list saying they could never have too much for wrapping presents for the five grandkids. She added goldfish crackers to the list; Levi and Anthony IV loved the small crackers, especially the cheddar cheese flavored ones. One-year-old Elijah was also showing a fondness for the popular snack.

LJ headed to his room to paint an acrylic landscape he'd started back in October. Ziva and Tony prepared to head out to the local superstore before the crowds.

"LJ," Ziva stood in his doorway. "Abba and I are going to make a final superstore run before the crowds get awful. Do you need anything?"

"No thanks Ima."

"Please listen for your sisters; I am not sure we will be back before they get here. Tali and Chaim will not be over today; they are making a video call to Chaim's parents in Tel Aviv. Anthony and Katie are busy with the twins; I think Aunt Dee and Uncle Tim are spending part of the day with them to help out. If you get hungry, there is leftover chicken Alfredo and two or three slices of pizza in the refrigerator."

"Got it," LJ was concentrating on getting the reflection of the moon on the water in his painting just right.

At the store, the couple quickly found all the items on their list. The last stop had been to the dairy department to pick up milk for the boys to have with the meals. As they headed down the main aisle to check out, Ziva spotted a display of multi-packs of onesies and sleepers. It was a terrific deal so she put two packages of each in newborn, three months, and six months sizes in the cart. Tony wandered over to a display of Christmas outfits for babies. He picked two similar outfits in 0 – 3 months size and held them up for Ziva to see.

"Wouldn't the girls look adorable in these?" he grinned at her, knowing she would not say no to buying the little dresses with leggings and a headband for each granddaughter. As she nodded and grinned back at him, he placed the two outfits in the cart.

"My little princesses will be the best-dressed babies in the DC area," their proud Saba declared as the pair walked to the checkout area. "I love my grandsons, but I'm glad we have granddaughters now too."

As they waited to check out, he put an arm around his wife and nibbled her earlobe. He leaned in and kissed Ziva just because he felt like doing so. "And they have the sexiest Savta in the world," he whispered in her ear.

She stepped back and gave him the once over elevator eyes, "Not too shabby yourself, Saba."

Back at home, Rivka, John, Beth, and Charles had arrived about fifteen minutes before their parents returned from shopping. They were all visiting with Grandpa in the family room. LJ heard the garage door open and went to the kitchen entrance to the garage to see if his parents needed any extra hands. He opened the door to the sound of his parents; apparently Ima was scolding Abba.

"You did not need to carry all eight of the remaining bags, Tony. We could have made a second trip out to the truck or had LJ go get the remaining bags," Ziva had one bag in her left hand and two bags in her right.

"Efficiency, Zi; four bags on one arm, four on the other," he smirked at her and held up his arms. "Saves steps and time."

"You are lucky I grabbed the milk; I know you'd be complaining if you had a gallon of milk hanging off your arm. Thank you, LJ," she stepped through the door he held open for his parents.

LJ shook his head as he followed Abba inside. Only his parents! "I can help put things away," he offered.

Ziva glared at her husband as he tried to figure out how to put the two bags of food down on the counter so that he could take the rest of the bags to their room. All were filled with last minute gifts for the grandkids. "Please help your Abba before he drops something," she huffed.

LJ took the two bags of food from his father's arms and put them on the counter. He helped his Ima put the groceries away while Tony took the gifts to the master bedroom. He and Ziva would be wrapping presents late at night again.

LJ went back to the family room; Ziva sat on one of the barstools at the counter. She slipped on the reading glasses that she and Tony shared to check over the receipt. She felt arms wrap around her from behind as Tony pulled her to him. He nuzzled into her neck and spun her around on the stool. When she was facing him, he leaned in and put his lips on hers.

"Mistletoe!" he pointed above her head as he pulled away slightly. She swatted his chest playfully and then grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Mistletoe!" she grinned at him as Rivka entered the kitchen. "Yaldati!" Mother and daughter hugged; they had not seen each other in person since 4th of July week. Rivka then hugged her Abba.

The three went into the family room to visit with the others. Ziva hugged Beth and John, and shook Charles' hand. She remembered that he was not a hugger. Tony hugged his daughter, and started to shake hands with John, but drew the young man into a guy hug. He shook Charles' hand remembering that the Gremlin's offspring was not a hugger.

The four young adults stayed for a late lunch and then they and LJ left to go to a concert at Capital One Arena, home of the NHL hockey franchise for DC. Gibbs was in his room sleeping, and Ziva and Tony were wrapping gifts in their offices when LJ came home at 2330. He peeked into the offices to say good night to his parents.

Christmas Eve dawned with sunny skies and colder temperatures. Ziva and Tony were up before the sun to get the turkey for the late afternoon family dinner in the oven and prepare other dishes for heating later in the day. Tony happened to look outside and noticed the bright pinks, oranges and magentas in the sky. Perhaps Gibbs' knees were correct about the snow. The couple paused to enjoy the natural show and beauty, arms wrapped around each other.

By 1300, the house was full of family; Tim and Delilah; Tali, Chaim, Levi, and Elijah; Anthony, Katie, Anthony, Kelly, and Shannon; Rivka and John; and Beth and Charles, plus Ziva, Tony, LJ, and Gibbs. They feasted on a turkey dinner with all the fixings, including mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, peas and carrots, dressing, red cabbage, and rolls.

The younger generation, except for LJ, all headed out for home shortly after sunset with promises to be back the next morning. Gibbs soon grew tired and said good night, leaving just Tony, Ziva, LJ, Tim, and Dee to watch _It's a Wonderful Life_. The McGees left about 2200, LJ went to his room to paint, and the DiNozzo grandparents returned to offices to finish wrapping gifts. By the time the gifts were all wrapped and placed under the tree it was close to 0200.

Ziva could see that Tony's back was hurting from carrying piles of gifts and bending to put them under the tree. As he stood up after placing the final pile, she slid her hands to his lower back and gently massaged his sore muscles.

"Feels so good Sweetcheeks," he sighed and leaned into her touch. "Toda raba."

"Making up for being snitchy earlier," she replied. He turned his head and gave her a questioning look over his shoulder as she continued to knead his lower back. She grinned at him, "Snippy and bitchy…"

He turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands, "Never, my love… you were right you know; I shouldn't have carried all those bags at once."

"Aha! You admit that I was correct," she grinned at him. He stroked her face with his thumbs and fused his lips to hers.

When they broke for air, he quipped, "Mistletoe! Somewhere."

On Christmas morning, the pair rose early again to prepare the pans of lasagna for the family meal later in the day. Riv, John. Beth, and Charles arrived by 0830 after they had been promised Abba's chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Even Gibbs ate pancakes, foregoing his usual oatmeal. Tony figured he made close to forty pancakes by the time everyone was full.

Tali and her family arrived about 1030, followed by Tim and Dee fifteen minutes later. Anthony and his family 'moved in,' as Tony joked, a bit after 1100. LJ played Santa, handing gifts to each person; most of them were opened by Levi and Anthony IV who delighted in tearing the wrapping paper. Both giggled hysterically each time one made a long tearing sound. The adults were soon laughing with the boys and Elijah imitated his brother and cousin. Tim and Tony took pictures and video of it all; including the sea of torn paper in the family room when all the gifts were opened.

While Ziva and Tali started putting pans of lasagna into the ovens, the other adults began collecting trash or stacking gifts out of the way. Tony counted seven bags of trash when the family room was finally somewhat tidy again.

Both Ziva and Tony noticed Gibbs rubbing his knees; when time came to eat, he moved slowly into the dining room even with his walker. The family demolished the four pans of lasagna, salad, Italian bread, and garlic bread. Once the meal was finished, Katie went into the twins' old room to nurse the babies. Tali took Elijah to her Ima's office to get him settled for a nap.

Levi and Anthony played with their new toys while Gibbs watched from his recliner. Levi looked out the deck door and jumped up and down excitedly.

"Papa, it's snowing!" he yelled. "IT'S SNOWING!" he yelled even louder and ran into the kitchen.

Anthony IV followed behind his cousin yelling as well, "SNOW, SNOW!"


	16. Blessed With Grandchildren - 2052

Chapter 16: Blessed With Grandchildren – 2052

"I think we're crazy," Tim lamented to Tony and Ziva. "But I wouldn't have it any other way!" The three grandparents had offered to keep all fifteen grandkids for the two days before Christmas to give their parents a break. Currently, the three were loading them into Ziva's minivan, Tim's minivan, and Tony's truck to go for family pictures and then lunch.

"Uncle Tim, do you have Brian's booster seat?" fifteen –year-old Levi was helping get the younger kids buckled in to Tim's van.

"It was here a minute ago," Tim looked around for the seat wondering where it had got to.

Fourteen-year-old Anthony called over to his cousin from Savta's van, "Over here, Levi, it was in the line of kid seats in the garage." He pointed to the booster seat and Levi nodded appreciatively.

"Sorry, I moved it; I was going to bring it to you, and got distracted by Robert's zipper on his coat," twelve-year-old Shannon explained to her cousin and brother. "He got it stuck on the strap for his booster seat!"

Tony smirked at Ziva, "Figures it would be a Palmer to do THAT."

Ziva swatted his arm, "Be nice; he's half DiNozzo as well…" She was cut off by five-year-old Jessica tugging at her coat. "What is it, tataleh?"

"Savta, I gotta go pee," LJ's oldest danced from one foot to the other.

"I'm on it, Savta," ten –year-old Elisheva (El) took her cousin's hand and led her back into the house.

Twenty minutes later, everyone was situated; just to be sure, Tony went through the families to make sure all kids were accounted for.

"Okay; Rubins… Levi?"

"With Savta," the teen answered from the passenger seat of Ziva's van.

"Elijah?"

The thirteen-year-old piped up from the passenger seat of Tony's truck, "Here, Saba!"

"Noah?"

"Here! And so is El," the ten-year-old answered for himself and his twin from the back seat of Tony's truck.

"DiNozzos… Anthony?"

"In Grandpa's van," the teen replied from the passenger seat of Tim's van.

"Kelly?"

"In Grandpa's van," the twelve-year-old responded. "Helping with the little ones."

"Shannon?"

She replied from the back seat of Ziva's van, "In Savta's van, helping with babies."

"McGees… Adam?"

The eight-year-old waved at his Saba from Tim's van, "Right here, Saba!"

"Brian?"

"Saba!" the three-year-old called from the rear seat of Tim's van where he was sitting next to Kelly.

"Abigail?"

"Next to Brian," Anthony replied for his two-year-old cousin.

"On to Palmers… Rebecca?"

"In Uncle Tim's van," seven-year-old Rebecca responded from her place in the rear seat in Tim's van. "Behind Brian."

"Robert?"

"I'm here, Saba," the four-year-old waved from the back seat of Ziva's van.

"And little DiNozzos… Jessica?"

"Next to Shan!" she called out.

"Jackson?"

"Behind Savta," Levi answered for the two-year-old.

"And finally, Jethro? Um, Jet." Tony forgot they were trying to use his nickname at his big sister's insistence.

"Behind me," Levi pointed to the eight-month-old in his car seat.

"Okay, then, let's roll!" Tony led the caravan of vehicles to Anthony III's photo studio. His son co-owned the business with two others, but was only occasionally in the studios as his work as programming director for a large cable network kept him busy.

Tony carried Jackson; Ziva had Jet in her arms, and Tim balanced Abigail on his left hip as the older kids each paired with a younger one to enter the building.

"You have to admit, McCrazy, that we've perfected the tag team with these kids," Tony joked to his brother of the heart as the two men walked behind the paired grandkids who were following Ziva.

The receptionist looked up as the eighteen people entered the waiting room and smiled. "Mrs. DiNozzo; how are you? We have the largest studio set up already for your session. Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Shelly," Ziva smiled at the woman. She was Anthony's longest tenured employee and the sister-in-law of one of his partners. "Merry Christmas!"

Tony smiled at Shelly, "One more since last year! Zi's got LJ's youngest."

"Merry Christmas, Shelly," Tim smiled. "Thanks for taking our pack today…"

"Always a pleasure, Mr. McGee. I just got your new book by the way; I love the adventures of Sherlock and Watson. Those kitties are something else!" Shelly grinned and held up her copy of _Sherlock and Watson Ride the Train._

The photo session lasted over two hours; Ziva brought toys, books, and snacks for the younger kids and the older ones helped keep the little kids entertained while waiting for their turns. Ziva and Tony had shots with all fifteen; with each family; and with the boys, and then the girls. Tim had shots with his six grandchildren, each family, just the boys, and just the girls. The final set was of all three grandparents with all fifteen kids.

"Okay, listen up, everyone, time to pack up and get in the vehicles so we can go get lunch. Who's hungry?" Tony looked out at the sea of faces and grinned.

"Anthony's ALWAYS hungry," Kelly teased her brother. Shannon high-fived her twin and grinned.

"What are we going to eat?" Adam was hungry and ready to eat just like his cousins.

"Yeah, lunch!" Robert and Brian shouted. Ziva reminded the little boys to use inside voices.

"We have our own dining room at the steak house buffet place near the mall," Tim informed his grandson and anyone else listening. "I think they're also setting up a private buffet just for us."

Ziva confirmed by nodding, "Yes, I figured it would be easier with so many children to keep them all in one room." She finished buckling Jet into his car seat and checked that the others were ready to go. "See you there," she waved to Tony and Tim as she started the van and backed out of the parking space.

Back at the DiNozzo house, the under-fives were settled in for afternoon naps. Levi, Anthony, and Shannon helped get the younger ones to rest. Once the five little ones were sleeping, the older kids divided into several groups. Levi and Anthony took most of them to the family room to play video games with Uncle Tim. Shannon, Kelly, and Elisheva followed Ziva to the kitchen to make cookies. Elijah followed his Saba to the playroom and the two watched a movie.

At dinner, Tony ordered pizza for the gang; he had to assure the person taking his order on the phone that he did indeed want to order ten large pizzas for delivery. "I'm feeding an army of grandkids," he told the incredulous girl on the line. "Including three teenaged boys; plus three adults."

Getting all eight younger kids ready for bed and into beds took the three adults with help from Levi, Anthony, Shannon and Kelly. The three younger girls shared Rivka and Beth's old room while the five boys shared LJ's old room. Ziva was glad that she and Tony decided to put two sets of bunk beds in each of the four bedrooms that had been their own kid's rooms at one time.

Tali's four and Anthony's three shared their parents' old rooms with the three girls in Tali's old room and the four boys in Anthony's old room.

Tim slept on the sofa bed in the family room; he had a direct feed from the live cam for the cats to his phone and could check on them at any time. He reasoned that Tony and Ziva could also use his help with the pack of kids.

In the master suite, Ziva was mentally making lists to make sure she had everything for Christmas dinner while Tony finished in the bathroom. She lay on her back staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Penny for your thoughts," he moved next to his wife on the bed.

She turned to him, "Counting how many we are going to feed on Christmas and making sure I have everything we need for dinner." She rose up on her elbow and watched as he scooted closer to her.

"Eighteen already here; plus Tali and Chaim; Anthony and Katie; John and Riv; Beth and Charles; LJ and Savannah; Jimmy and Breena; Clay and Ellie; am I forgetting anyone?" Ziva thought aloud.

"Jason?"

"He and Carlos are going to San Antonio to visit Carlos' family this year," she shook her head. "I count thirty two people, but Jet probably won't eat lasagna."

"Never say never; LJ was about the same age when he first tried it," Tony reminded his Ninja. "The boy IS a DiNozzo… and Ellie is his grandmother on the other side…"

"True," Ziva turned to Tony and brushed her lips on his. "Do you know that I love you, Mr. DiNozzo?"

"Mm-hmm," he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. "Ani ohev otcha, Mrs. DiNozzo."

"Did you put mistletoe over the bed again?" she grinned into the next kiss and pressed herself to him.

"Yep!" He broke for air, "and in our bathroom, and in the kitchen, and the family room, and the dining room, and the living room, and in our offices, and in the laundry room, and…"

She cut him off by rolling onto him and fusing her lips to his; "Merry Christmas, my love."

"Merry Christmas, Sweetcheeks," he pulled her back down for more kisses and…

* * *

**A/N For more about Delilah and why she's not here, see the mothership 'You Complete Me.'**


	17. Another Generation - 2060

Chapter 17: Another Generation – 2060

"Let's get Savta Raba," the squeals from nearly fifteen-month-old Rachel just about drowned out her Saba Raba's voice as he walked towards Ziva with the baby on his shoulders. "BOO!" he said to his wife as she pretended to be startled. Their great-granddaughter laughed even more.

Ziva put a kiss on the little girl's hand, "Hello, yaldati. Saba Raba seems to forget that he will pay the price for putting you on his shoulders." She tickled the baby's socked feet as she locked gazes with her husband, "And who will have to listen to his moans and groans later tonight…"

"Still worth every ache and pain to hear her laughing," Tony replied as he leaned in for a quick kiss from his Ninja. "Mistletoe!" he pointed upward with the thumb of his left hand, which was also holding Rachel's leg. He leaned closer to Ziva and whispered in her ear, "Besides, Saba Raba likes how Savta Raba helps the aches go away…"

"Oh you do, do you?" she playfully swatted his arm and grinned. "Now go; let me finish getting this lasagna ready for the oven so we can eat dinner on time. Or would you rather explain to thirty other hungry family members why YOU delayed dinner?"

Tali came into the kitchen as Tony turned to leave, "There's my girl!" She reached to take her granddaughter from her Abba's shoulders. "Come see what Saba and Uncle Elijah have put together for you." Turning towards her mother, she said a short phrase, "Indoor playhouse. Thanks for keeping her distracted, Abba."

The elder DiNozzos watched their oldest carry her granddaughter back towards the playroom.

"I still cannot believe our baby is a grandmother," Ziva sighed and leaned on Tony's shoulder. "Only yesterday she was playing with her baby dolls…"

He sighed as well, "Zi, she's **middle-aged**! When did we get old?"

"We are not old," she laughed. "Well maybe you are… How did that happen?"

"I don't know. I realized this morning that Levi is close to the age that you were when you walked into the bullpen and captured my heart all those years ago. If anyone had said that we'd have five kids, fifteen grandkids, and a great-granddaughter back then…"

Ziva frowned, "That was fifty-five years ago, Tony. FIFTY-FIVE!" He pulled her into him and sighed as she continued the thought, "We ARE old."

He placed a gentle kiss on her gray-streaked curls, "To me, you will never be old, my love. Merry Christmas." He fused his lips to hers as she threaded her fingers into his now silver hair. "Mistletoe," he breathed into a second kiss.

They were interrupted by Jethro, LJ's youngest, when the eight-year-old came into the kitchen from the family room.

"Savta, when is dinner? I'm hungry," the boy asked.

Ziva tousled the boy's hair, "In about an hour, motek; provided your Saba lets me get the lasagna pans in the ovens."


	18. A Full House - 2066

Chapter 18: A Full House – 2066

"Ima, you DO NOT need to be trying to be helping in the kitchen," Tali admonished her mother. "It's only been a little over a month since you were released from the hospital."

"But, I want…"

"NO. Go sit with Abba on the loveseat; you both are still healing from saving the neighbor from the fire," Tali helped her mother sit on the loveseat next to Abba. "Anthony, Katie, Riv, Beth, LJ, and I have this under control."

Tony intertwined his fingers with Ziva's and grinned, "She means it, Zi. LJ's right, our daughter has turned into her Ima. Besides, they won't let Tim do anything either." He nodded towards their brother of the heart who was hobbling into the room with a cane, his son shadowing the older man in case he stumbled.

"I am NOT an invalid, John. Please stop hovering," an exasperated Tim McGee groused at his son. "You'd think I was a fragile old man the way you and your sister are babying me."

Tony and Ziva shared a look and a smile, which Tim noticed as he sat in the recliner next to them, "It's NOT funny, you two," their brother groaned. "Your five are doing the same to you two!"

"We KNOW!" the couple spoke as one, eyes locked in an amused gaze.

John sighed as Anthony came into the room to check on his parents, apparently sent by his older sister. "Look, Dad, Uncle Tony, Aunt Ziva, we almost lost you three not so long ago; indulge your children and let us pamper you for once." He looked at his cousin/brother-in-law for support.

"John's right; you gave us all a major scare, trying to be agents again," Anthony looked at each of the three. "We want to enjoy what time we have left with you, not have to worry that you are…" He wiped at his eyes, trying not to let his tears of frustration and sadness at thinking about his parents' mortality show. Ziva reached out for her son's hand; he sat on the arm of the loveseat beside his Ima and clasped her hand in his.

"Anthony, motek," she said softly, "We are OLD; Abba is ninety-eight and I am eighty-seven. Uncle Tim is eighty-nine. We are not going to deny that we could be gone tomorrow, but we are also not going to sit around and do nothing. We have to enjoy what time we have left. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I get it. But no more acting like you're part of Grandpa's NCIS team again, okay?"

Tony moved slightly so that he could put his hand on top of Ziva and Anthony's joined hands; he gave a gentle squeeze, "Anthony, the training NEVER leaves. If we had to do it again, we would. Hopefully, that situation won't repeat any time soon." He looked Anthony in the eyes and continued, "I love you Anthony; thank you for caring about your parents so much."

"Love you too, Abba. I love you, Ima," Anthony moved around and hugged both of his parents, not hiding his tears this time. John and Tim shared a tearful hug at the same time.

Beth sniffled and wiped her eyes as she watched the scene unfold in the family room. "Not to interrupt a family moment or anything, but Tali needs you two, Anthony and John, to help LJ, Charles, and Chaim set up the tables for dinner. We have forty-nine people to feed plus the two babies! Savannah just left to get Aunt Ellie and Uncle Clay; we'll eat once they get here."

John and Anthony headed to the dining room to help with the tables; Levi and Noah came into the family room carrying their babies. Levi handed four-and-one-half-month old Ryan to his Saba while Noah put one-and-one-half-month-old Noah, Junior in his Savta's arms. Tony and Ziva grinned at their newest great-grandsons, numbers ten and eleven of the great-grands.

Anthony and Katie's three three-and-one-half-year-old grandchildren, Anthony V – better known as Tony – and Shan's twins, Mark and Maria, came running in from the play room. Mark was toting one of the _Sherlock and Watson_ books and handed it to his great-grandfather McGee.

"Great-Papa, will you read to us, PLEASE?" the little boy gave Tim his best puppy eyes.

"Yeah, please, we like when you read the stories and make the cat sounds!" little Maria added with a grin. Little Tony nodded and flashed his best DiNozzo grin as his two-year-old sister Ziva and four-year-old cousin Rich (Levi's son) joined the group.

"Everybody sit down on the floor, and that way Saba Raba and Savta Raba can also hear the story," Tim replied as he turned the book to face the kids. He knew the stories from memory (he'd written them after all) and began to tell the story after the kids settled at his feet. "_Sherlock and Watson Meet the Puppies_," he began to grins all around.

In the kitchen, Tali was in what LJ called her "take-charge Ima" mode. She assigned tasks to each person helping get the meal ready, supervising all. She was texting with her sister Rivka, who was at Tali's house with two pans of lasagna in the oven and her sister-in-law Katie, who was at her own house with another two pans of lasagna in the oven. Tali and Beth had four more pans in Ima's ovens; coordinating heating the eight pans of lasagna with heating eight loaves of garlic bread and six plain loaves of Italian bread, and prepping three huge bowls of salad. The food would be served buffet style to make getting forty-nine adults and children fed, including setting up high chairs for one-year-old Avigail (Elisheva's daughter) and eighteen-month-olds Rivka (Elijah's daughter) and Sean (Kelly's son.)

Seating the entire family had also been a challenge; the dining room table expanded to hold twenty-four; eight could be seated at the table in the breakfast nook when its leaves were added; four at the counter in the kitchen; three little ones in high chairs; the six newly engaged young people in couples at a portable table in the playroom; and Ima, Abba, Uncle Tim, Uncle Clay, and Aunt Ellie in the family room.

Tali's four were all married with families as were Anthony's three. Rivka's oldest, Adam; Beth's oldest, Rebecca; and LJ's oldest, Jessica had all become engaged in the past forty-eight hours. The youngest five of the DiNozzo grandchildren were all teens, ranging from eighteen to fourteen. Time had a way of marching forward; Tali was thankful that her parents had lived to see eleven great-grandchildren so far, with two more on the way in 2067.

Rivka and Katie arrived with their pans of lasagna just as the timer for allowance for the pans at the DiNozzo house to 'set' buzzed. Garlic bread and plain bread was cut and put into serving pans; the bowls of salad were on the counter as well as a stack of plates. Chaim called everyone to the family room and asked them to join hands. Ziva looked around at the extended family; forty-nine sets of joined hands plus the two babies in their mother's arms.

She leaned towards Tony and whispered, "We are so blessed; look at this family! Who would have imagined that we would have so many to call ours?"

She disentangled their joined hands to wipe a tear from his cheek and swipe at her own eyes as he replied quietly, "A legacy of love, Zi; almost all of this grew from our love, Sweetcheeks. Ani ohev otcha."

"Ani ohevet otach," she whispered as Chaim called for silence as he began a generic blessing over the food and more importantly, over the family.

"We ask a blessing over this meal for all fifty-one people gathered here; may the good food sustain our bodies. We ask a blessing over the love that is shared among the fifty-one souls who have become a part of this family. May we each grow in that love, have our hearts enriched, and our souls nourished; family is the reason for the season. Love is what builds a family and we have it in abundance. Amein."

"Amen," chorused most of the group in reply as hands were squeezed lightly around the circle of family.

"Are we going to eat now?" little Tony piped up. "I'm hungry!" The adults all chuckled at the little boy's DiNozzo grin and eagerness to eat; a true legacy to his namesake great-grandfather.

"Yes, kiddo, and all of you kids get to go first," Katie ruffled her grandson's hair. He scowled at her and then took her hand and just about dragged her to the kitchen to fill his plate.

Once the younger kids were happily chowing down on lasagna, the five teens served the eldest generation, and then the others lined up to fill plates and find seats. Tali and Katie were the last two to move along the serving line.

Tali turned to her sister-in-law/cousin, "We did it!"

"Yeah, we did," Katie replied as the two high-fived and grinned as they filled their plates and joined their spouses at the kitchen nook table. "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

After the meal and clean-up were finished, John, Charles, and LJ coordinated the opening of gifts with each family taking a turn with the elder generation in the family room. First up were Tali and Chaim with their gang: Levi and Jackie with Rachel, 6, Rich, and Ryan; Elijah and Shoshanna with Rivka, plus a baby due in June; Noah and Deanna with Noah, Jr.; and Elisheva and Harland with Avigail. Tony and Ziva gave each of the grandchildren and their spouses a check for one thousand dollars; each of the great-grandchildren had gifts to open or have opened for them. Anthony took pictures with the entire group and with his parents with each grandchild and family.

Next up was Anthony and Katie with their brood: Anthony IV and Margaret with little Tony and Ziva; Kelly and Brian with Sean; and Shannon and Michael with twins Mark and Maria and a baby due in July that they had just confirmed three days before Christmas. Similar to Tali's family, each grandchild and spouse received a one thousand dollar check, and the children had gifts to open. Anthony set the cameras for the various shots and when he was to be in them, John moved in to snap the shutter.

Third up were Rivka and John plus Adam and his fiancée Lynn, Brian, 17, and Abigail, 16. Adam and Lynn received a one thousand dollar check and the two teens were given five hundred dollars each. The fourth group were Beth and Charles, Rebecca and her fiancé Drew and Robert, 18. The couple, like their cousins, received one thousand dollars; Robert got five hundred.

Last up were LJ and Savannah plus Jessica and her fiancé Dan, Jackson, 16, and Jethro, 14. Again, the couple received one thousand dollars from Tony and Ziva and the teens, five hundred each. After each family was done opening gifts from the patriarch and matriarch of the DiNozzo clan, Anthony gathered the grandchildren into a group for pictures and then the great-grandchildren. Little ones were getting sleepy and families started getting ready to head home.

Finally, Anthony IV took several pictures of the eldest DiNozzos with their offspring, including recreating some favorite shots from their childhood Christmases. Everyone laughed as LJ tried to get into his Ima's lap and finally ended up sitting on the arm of the loveseat and leaning his head on her to pretend to be in her lap.

LJ and Savannah took Clay and Ellie back to their apartment in a retirement village on their way back home. Families headed out after wishing each other a merry Christmas. Anthony and Katie helped Tim into their SUV to take him home, leaving only Tali and Chaim who were finishing cleaning up in the kitchen.

"I think we got it all cleaned up and the dishes put away, Ima," Tali hugged her mother and then her Abba.

"Thank you, Tali, for making this a memorable Christmas," Ziva squeezed her eldest's hand. "And you, as well, Chaim. Toda raba."

Tony grinned at his baby, his fifty-two-year-old 'little girl,' and pulled her into another hug, "You know you will always be my baby girl, Tals. Thank you a million times over."

"Yeah, Abba, I know," she sniffled as the tears formed in her eyes. "Love you to the moon and back."

"Love you more," he felt the tears forming. "Merry Christmas."

Tali and Chaim said good night and headed home, leaving a very quiet house behind for the couple whose love created the legacy celebrated that day.

"Finally some quiet," Tony joked to Ziva as he pulled her to him. "Too quiet," he whispered as he kissed her lips. They broke for air and he pointed upward in the entry foyer, "Mistletoe!"

Ziva started to reply and noticed her love deep in thought, "A penny for your thoughts?"

He grinned his special Ziva-only grin at her, "Counting how many sprigs of mistletoe between here and our room… Sweetcheeks, you had better be ready to be kissed all the way to the bed…"

"I am looking forward to it and then cuddling with you as well," she replied with her Tony-only smile that still melted his insides every time.

* * *

**A/N for more on our trio's heroics, see chapters 48 and 49 of the mothership "You Complete Me"**


	19. Missing - 2067

Chapter 19: Missing – 2067

Anthony and Tali watched their younger brother LJ paint the names on the tree-of-life wall hanging in the family room of the house in which they grew up. He added the five new great-grandchildren in the order in which they had been born over the previous year: Rebekkah Ann, 25 June to Elijah and Shoshanna; Samuel Anthony and Shawna Ariel, 24 July to Shannon and Michael; Sarah Miriam, 22 August to Kelly and Brian; and Aniyah Talia, 15 December to Noah and Deanna. Another was on the way who would make their sister Beth a first time grandmother in the first part of the coming year.

Tali thought about the circle of life; births and deaths, celebrations and mourning. She heard the song from _The Lion King_ sung in her Abba's voice; a memory from when she was barely old enough to remember. That summer she and Abba were alone, waiting for Ima to come back to them… She must have hummed or sung a line out loud because her brothers both looked at her.

"What?" she asked the two men whom she'd known all their lives.

Anthony smirked, "Were you channeling Abba; you sang a line from _The Lion King_!"

"Yeah. '_Til we find our place on the path unwinding, it's the circle, the circle of life_'," LJ sang. "Abba sang that to each of us…" his voice trailed off as the memories flooded in. He wiped at the corners of his eyes and noticed similar actions from his siblings.

"Yes," Tali replied softly. She motioned for LJ to join Anthony and her and the three shared a group hug with tears mixed in. "The best was when Ima joined in or when Abba played his guitar and they sang _Numi, Numi_ together…"

LJ looked up at a sound on the hallway side of the family room; Rivka and Beth stood there with glistening eyes, watching their siblings. He motioned them over and the five embraced as a group, tears flowing freely. Anthony pulled a packet of tissues from his pocket and handed one to each of the others.

"Okay, if we're going to get this place ready for another Christmas celebration, we gotta go easy on the tears," he sniffled and tried to smile. "Who's going to get the tree?"

Riv grinned at her siblings, "Already have it picked out at that farm where Ima and Abba always bought the tree until two years ago. I came to get Abba's truck to bring it home."

"I'll start getting the decorations out of the garage," LJ offered. "Just don't let Anthony take stuff off the shelves," he teased his older brother. "No DiNozzo disaster this year, please!"

"Am I EVER going to live that one down? Geez, that was 2025, guys," Anthony groaned.

Beth lightly swatted her brother's arm, "But you are the one who started it all…" The others nodded and grinned at Anthony. "Broken arm and a snow storm ride home, if I remember correctly."

Tali smirked at her siblings, "And LJ and I were the only two who didn't get hurt somehow… " She high-fived her little brother and the two faced the other three. "Okay, we can reminisce as we go, but we got a lot to do to decorate the house. We have a tree now, decorations are in the garage; let's see, what else?"

"Stockings, for everyone. We'll have to add the new babies, and also find the older ones for Grandducky, Grandpa, and the others who are no longer here," Rivka was thinking out loud.

"Yes, ALL of them!" Tali nodded; she liked the idea of putting up all of the Christmas stockings her parents had collected over the years. "I'll start hunting down the personalized ornaments for everyone once we have the boxes inside. Again, we'll have to add some, but that's the easy part."

Anthony was looking around the family room and seemed lost in thought. "Mistletoe! I found Abba's list of places to hang sprigs of mistletoe on his computer. We'll have to put up at least some of the greenery."

Beth turned to her older brother, "All of it; I think we should hang mistletoe every place on Abba's list. Including the three sprigs over their bed!"

"Oh, yes," Tali nodded her agreement. "Do you know why it was always **three** sprigs?"

Her siblings looked at her to continue.

"I found the reason in Ima's computer journals. Abba told Ima there was one sprig for him, one for her, and the biggest one for them. He intertwined the three sprigs to symbolize from two became one. He started that tradition with the three sprigs even before they were an official thing. Ima's journal said it was 2009. And in 2012, Ima helped Abba hang the three sprigs in her apartment, where they were living together. The next time that Abba hung the three sprigs was in 2016 in Paris; and every year after Abba continued the tradition. One year, I think Ima wrote that it was in 2020, he forgot and Ima made him go out on Christmas Eve and get mistletoe. He didn't forget after that!"

Rivka grabbed the keys for the truck, "I'm going to get the tree. Anyone want to go with?" Anthony volunteered, reasoning that he could get the mistletoe from the same place; he knew he's need about forty to fifty sprigs to hang one in every one of Abba's locations.

LJ and Tali started carrying boxes of decorations in from the shelves in the garage. Beth logged on to her Ima's computer and printed the annual holiday checklist that Ziva put together back when LJ was still a baby. Very little had changed over the years; most of the changes were due to the increasing number of family members as the younger generations added to the family.

Riv and Anthony returned with the tree and a case of mistletoe. Anthony explained that when they told the owner of the tree farm who they were, the man had wondered why their father and mother had not come in yet to buy the mistletoe. He'd been tearful when Anthony explained that his parents had passed away right after the New Year. He'd given the siblings a case of the greenery, because Tony and Ziva had always been so caring and nice to him. Several years when money had been tight for the man and his family, the elder DiNozzos had shown up with food, toys and warm clothes for the man's kids, and one year, even with much needed medication and supplies for the man's critically ill mother-in-law who was not expected to live for another Christmas. Uncle Jimmy had seen that the woman got a hospital bed, a wheelchair, and other needed items to make her last Christmas as happy as possible.

After getting the man to promise to share his story in a taped interview, Anthony had slipped the man a hundred dollar bill and wished him a wonderful Christmas. "Ima and Abba touched a lot of lives," Anthony told his sisters and brother. "I want to bring that aspect of them into the follow-up program to _SoulMates_."

The five siblings shared stories and memories of Christmases past as they decorated the Christmas tree. Many of the ornaments that were found in totes that had not been opened in many years also brought back memories. Ornaments for family long gone; ornaments that represented each of the years Ima and Abba had been together; ornaments that represented each of them, and other living family members of the generations forward from Ima and Abba.

LJ found an ornament dated 1983 in one of the boxes labelled 'T/Z.' He held it up for the others to see the year and looked to Tali. "1983? They were still kids then," he asked her. Tali nodded and smiled; she walked into Ima's office and the others could hear the printer seconds later. Tali returned with several pages in hand.

As the others continued decorating the tree, Tali read the story of the very first meeting between their parents, in Ima's words. _(A/N 'Chocolate Pools and Crazy Curls') _By the time she was on the last page, her brothers and sisters were sitting, mesmerized by the story they'd heard only in passing bits and pieces over the years.

"_And as I hugged the American boy, I whispered to him, 'Remember me; I will always remember you.' He wrapped his arms around me and whispered back, 'I will remember.' He stayed in my heart forever._" Tali looked up at her siblings; every one of them had tears threatening to spill.

LJ stood and used his knife to cut a small branch off the Christmas tree, from near the back, and grabbed the 1983 ornament and the 2066 ornament. He put the branch on the mantel next to the urn holding their parents ashes. He placed the two ornaments side by side on the branch. "Eighty-three years…" he spoke softly as he looked up at the portrait of his parents over the fireplace; their eyes locked on each other, lost in their own world. "No wonder they always seemed to be one soul in two bodies."

The five DiNozzos continued to decorate the house mostly silent, each one reflecting. When they did break the silence, it was to share a memory or two. Tali hung all of the Christmas stockings in the living room; her sisters helped her improvise to get all seventy-one stockings from the tote, plus the six for pets, plus the eight for new family members in 2066 hung around the living room fireplace. There would be at least one new one next year as well.

Anthony and LJ hung the last of the mistletoe in the living room as the women put up the last of the stockings. Tali found the tote of Chanukah decorations and menorahs. She dug into the tote and paused when she found a tiny menorah that brought back a flood of memories.

"What's that, sis?" Anthony noticed Tali staring at something in her hands. He could see the far-away look in her eyes; she was remembering something for sure.

Tali held up the menorah; none of the others recognized it, but for Tali it held a very significant memory. She smiled at the others through her tears, "None of you ever saw this menorah in use, because we only used it one year. 2016 in Paris; I didn't even know Ima and Abba still had it. This is the menorah we used the first year as a family, me, Ima, and Abba together. It was almost magical to have them together for the first time in my lifetime. I remember feeling so loved, but also that neither Ima nor Abba was sad any more. Until then, I could sense a sadness in Ima and then in Abba when it was just me and him for that summer. It was like alone, they were not whole, not complete. When they were finally together again, that missing piece was filled in."

The others were silent until LJ's stomach decided to rumble, loud enough for all to hear. The five broke out in laughter, noting that all were hungry. LJ ordered pizza, three large pizzas with extra cheese, pepperoni, and sausage, plus black olives and mushrooms, to be delivered. He put his phone on speaker when the man on the other end of the line asked him to repeat the order.

"Three large pizzas with extra cheese, pepperoni, sausage, black olives, and mushrooms; deliver to 781112…"

"Oh, you want the DiNozzo Special!" the man cut LJ off when he started to give the address. "Been a while since we had an order for that!"

"This is LJ; I have my brother and sisters on speaker. We're at our parents' house decorating for the annual holiday celebration. We decided to continue the traditions with the family even without Ima and Abba."

"Yeah, I heard about them back at the beginning of the year; sorry for your losses. Tell you what; since your parents were so kind to me over the years, I'm not going to charge you for the pizzas. It's my way of honoring them for Christmas! And I personally will deliver to you in about thirty minutes."

Tali spoke up, "You don't have to do that Mr. Canizio."

"I don't HAVE to, but I want to! Merry Christmas, DiNozzos! See you in about half an hour." He ended the call and the five looked at each other.

Anthony spoke first, "Another one to interview on tape; Ima and Abba have touched so many lives…" He moved to clean up the totes and put away the ladder from hanging mistletoe. By the time all the empty totes were stored away in the garage, the pizza was delivered. Anthony had Mr. Canizio promise to do an interview after the holidays.

"Merry Christmas, Tali, Anthony, Rivka, Beth, and LJ. And a blessed Christmas to your parents in the next life," he waved as he headed out.

"Merry Christmas to you!" all five called after him.

In the kitchen, the five filled paper plates with pizza and sat around the breakfast nook table. Tali raised her bottle of water to the others.

"Merry Christmas! To a long line of DiNozzo traditions for the foreseeable future," she grinned as the others raised their own water bottles.

"To Ima and Abba," Anthony added as they raised the water bottles upward. "We are DiNozzos…"

"And DiNozzos stick together like Superglue!" all five finished the family motto together. "Merry Christmas!"

* * *

**A/N Many thanks to all who have commented, favorited, followed, and just read along over the past 19 days. May you all have a blessed holiday season, whatever holidays you celebrate. I hope that the message of family, traditions, and love in this TIVA universe spills into your lives in abundance. If nothing else, may the message of the importance of family, whether by blood, or by choice of the heart fill you with joy in 2020. Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale, Fröhliche Weihnachten, חג מולד שמח**


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